The Case Files of Jounouchi Katsuya
by Brood and WSJ Tomodachi
Summary: Very AU. Jounouchi's a private eye, with Ryou, his undersuccessful but nice sidekick! Chapter 10 is up! Oh bad... Jou's got a new lead, and it looks like rough waters for Shizuka and Ryou...
1. Introduction

WSJ's Notes: I don't remember how this came about, other then that I asked Brood-chan to co-author a fic with me and she said yes. This just happened. ^^v And fun it is, too. We even got muses out of it! *hugs CP* 

CP: (Chibi-Pegasus) *sulks* 

WSJ: ^^ Kawaii! 

Brood: And lookie at mine!! *Huggles CJ* 

Chibi Joey: *sulks as well* Can I be biggy 'gain? 

Brood: Later...when we need you big...hehe...*grins and glomps him happily* 

Zutsokaki: *rolls his eyes* I really need to go out and play cards with the guys...*drags 'SJ's male muses and non-chibi male YGO charas out the door, the guys counting their money* 

Brood & WSJ: -.-;; 

Ying-Yang: (SJ's Change of Heart muse, wife of another of her muses, Alex the Celtic Guardian) ALEX! If you come home drunk I'll rip you limb from limb!!! 

Brood & WSJ: Oo;; 

Disclaimer: We don't own YGO. Hiro and Gwen are WSJ's, and Amoura is Brood's, from certain other of our stories. ^^v 

Wait! Hold! There's a couple name changes. ^^; Obviously, this is AU, so the yamis and hikaris are seperate people.   
Ryou Bakura = Ryou Hiroki   
Yami Bakura = Bakura Tamiya (WSJ: :p Sorry, I like plugs! ^^ *rimshot* ^^;)   
Yami-Yuugi = Yami Moto (He and Yugi are brothers in this)   
Yami Malik = Ishtar Mizuno (*another rimshot* What? I didn't do it! *WSJ looks around franticly*) 

The rest are still the same. ^^v Now GO READ! 

()()()()() 

Hey. Howya doin'? The name's Jounouichi Katsuya, and I'm a Private Eye. Yeah. You heard me, a P.I. See that desk over there with the blonde bum in suspenders lounging around? Yeah, that's me alright. And right now, I'm in the middle of a slump. 

It used to be that the dames would come in from all over just to get their case done by me. I'm one of the best, so that's why. The cases used to be long and involved. I had to use those smarts the Man Upstairs gave me a whole lot. Those cases were dangerous too. Now my gun sits unused in my top desk drawer, since the only cases I've been getting lately involve cheating tramp wives and missing earrings. Yeah. It's that bad. 

_SQUUUUEAAKK SLAM!!_ The door opens and slams, and I gotta cover my ears. Dang. I really gotta get that door fixed. 

My rookie in training stumbles inside, his long white hair...yeah. You heard me. Long WHITE hair falling all over his face. I can't even see those Deer-in-the-Headlight brown eyes of his. His name is Ryou Hiroki. 

"Sorry I'm late, Jounouchi-sama! I got caught in traffic and..." 

Ahh, cue the lame excuses. 

"Don't sweat it kiddo. Just get your stuff put away and let's get to work." 

His work so far has been just recording my old case files and putting them away. Every now and again he gets to pick my sister up from the highschool. I originally took him on as a rookie, but things have been so slow lately that the kid's gotten next to no field work. And not a peep of a complaint either. Just happily sits there and writes all day. 

How did the great detective Joey get a sidekick that pushes papers all day? Well, lemmie tell ya. 

~*~ 

It was really dark and stormy out. I was at my desk as usual, writing some kind of report on another lame case. I hear the downstairs door slam open, and my sister is yellin' to raise all hell. 

The way my office is set up is this. There's two doors if I go out of my office. One leads to some stairs and directly down to the outside. Some customers come in that way instead of calling. The other door goes to some stairs and my home. I go down to Shizuka in the living room and see what's goin' on. 

"Jou! Please help! I found him on the sidewalk, he looks like he's really sick! Help him please!" 

What I see on the living room floor, (Yeah, floor. Looked like my sis had to drag the poor kid in.) is the kid, and his face is all all red. His hair was what got my attention first. This kid wasn't even twenty yet and his head was full of white already! Well, me and my sis dragged him to the couch, and I got him into some dry clothes. Turned out the kid had a fever like nothin' else, and my sister, Shizuka, had to nurse him back to normal. 

It was about a day or so until the kid could wake up. 

"Where am I?" 

I was in the room at the time, so I butted in. 

"You're at my place, kid." 

"Where is this place? And who are you? What happened?" 

Man....dang those eyes. They were too dang huge and innocent. Reminded me of Shizuka when she wanted something outta me. And she KNEW that I couldn't resist those eyes of hers.... 

"You're at my place, I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, and you're sicker than a dog, kid." 

"Oh......how did I get here?" 

"My sis here dragged ya in. Say hi, Shizuka." 

My sis froze then. Dunno why, but she did. She stammered out a "hello" before she had to turn away. Funny, she was fine around him when he was unconscious. Anyway, me and the kid got to talkin', and it turns out that he was all alone in this city, and didn't have a job. Shizuka piped up again. 

"Brother, why don't you give him a job? You'd been saying that we needed another person to help around here, right? You know, someone to keep things organized up in your office!" 

The kid sat up. "I can organize things! I'm really good at that!" 

Gahh! Those eyes! Both of them were doin' the eyes! Ahh! 

"Ehh...what's your name, kid?" 

"Ryou Hiroki. What is it that you do, Jounouchi-sama?" 

Sama, eh? I could get used to that... 

"I'm a Private Eye, kid. I solve the cases the cops won't touch." 

"Wow! That's great! Sounds exciting!" 

"Yeah, wait 'till ya see the dames that you can meet in this kind of work..." 

The poor kid blushed pretty bad then. Shizuka just kinda looked at me funny. 

"Does he have the job, Jou?" She was starin' at me...eyes...ahh...eyes!!! 

"Uhh...sure kid, why not? I like your style. Could use some fresh meat around here." 

"YAAYY!! Isn't that great Hiroki-san! Big Brother gave you the job!" Then she jumped outta her chair and hugged him so fast if I'da blinked, I'da missed it. 

"Hey! Don't go gettin' fresh on MY little sister now!" 

Heh.. Well after the kid was well enough, I took him around all the usual joints. First and foremost was the coffee place where we'd get our daily cup of java. The owners of that store are a couple of friends, Otogi Ryuji and Malik Ishtar. Them two mugs know how to put together a great cup of joe. 

When I walked in with Ryou, Otogi was behind the counter. I assumed Malik was somewhere in the back. Otogi waved at me and went back to cleanin' glasses. Malik stepped out of the back room with a whole box of napkins, and looked pretty close to droppin' 'em. Otogi and I jus' grinned at each other, but Ryou ran forward to help 'im out. 

"Hey, who's this?" Malik asked. 

"My name's Ryou Hiroki." he said (politely. This kid's got politeness comin' out'a his ears.) 

"Finally getting around to taking on a partner Jou-san?" Otogi asked. I just shrugged and told him to get me my usual. 

We were on the way to the Police station to let the guys who clean up after my capers know I had a rookie on my hands now, when we walked close to a theatre. I don't know why, but Ryou got sorta excited and asked if we could stop in there. Said he knew a few people there. I humoured the kid and followed him inside. 

The theatre was pretty big, lots of room to move around in. On the stage were three broads in costume, and two guys actin' with them. When Ryou walked into sight, they all stopped actin', makin' the director kinda mad until he saw us. 

I recognized the director from one of my old cases. He suspected his wife of cheatin' on him. Turned out she wasn't. She was takin' dance lessons as a surprise for their anniversary. Another lame case for the fire. 

Two of the girls got off the stage and gave Ryou a big hug, makin' him blush like nothin' else. I know that I wouldn't blush if I had two great lookin' dames like that all over me. One of the guys jumped off the stage to, grinning so big I thought his face would snap. 

"Ahh..Jounouchi-sama, this is the theatre where I work at times. These two are Amoura LeTazaut and Gwen Kennedy, and Hiro Kawigami." 

Gwen, the blond one, piped up. "Gwen Kawigami, Ryou-kun. And don't be so modest!" 

"Yeah," Hiro piped up. "You were a full-fledged member of the troupe until you ran off." The three actors exchanged a look, which Ryou shared, and then dropped the subject. I was gettin' pretty confused, and decided I'd have to do some quiet back-checking on my new rookie later on. 

Ryou just stared at her as she and that Hiro guy laughed at him and held hands. Dangit. She just had to be married, didn't she? 

The one he called Amoura giggled. "Ahh..little Ryou iz ztill a little shy around ze girls, no?" Woah, a French chic. She was a cute one. Long wavy light green hair and big brown eyes, kind of like Ryou's, only more playful. And just a little bit more lashes than his. 

Gwen piped up. "Yeah, he needs to loosen up a bit...hey, who's the friend, Ryou?" She was cute too. Really long blonde hair. Had it all piled up on top of her head as part of her costume though. It was a shame she was married. Ah well, one out'a two ain't bad. 

Before I could get to the process of sweeping the French dame off her feet, the third girl yelled from the stage. 

"Don't mess with HIM girls, we all KNOW Ryou just comes here for the attention!!!" Woah, she sounded like a cold one. I looked over at her. Shoulder length brown hair, and big blue eyes. Those blue eyes were lookin' real mad. 

Ryou suddenly bristled up though, even though I never thought the kid had it in him. "Anzu Mazaki...I don't feel like going through this with you today! It was done over a YEAR ago!!! No thanks to you..." 

"Don't bring it up! You ALWAYS bring it up!!!" 

"Me? You started it! It wasn't MY fault I got that role!" 

"Is it my fault you're so feminine that you did?" 

Dang. This dame was CHEESED. 

After a few more moments of them two going back and forth, I forgot about sweeping the other French chic off her feet and dragged the kid out of there. I didn't even ask why the dame was so mad at the kid. I like figuring these things out for myself... 

~*~ 

After the kid got introduced to the officers, Yugi and Yami Moto, and Bakura Tamiya, the guys who usually clean up after particularly messy cases, we headed back to the office and I gave him the rundown of what was goin' on. 

But not a single break since then. And this is where you find us now. In my office, bummin' around and waitin' for the phone to ring. It's not fun. 

_Squuueaaaakkk_

I look up, expecting to see Ryou leaving for a drink or a trip to the john. Instead I see a shadow in the doorway. A very shapely shadow. I kick my feet off the desk and lean on it with my elbow, professional like. Ryou's head has snapped to the door and gawked at the dame at the door. 

"Can I help you, miss?" Ryou asked nicely. He HAS to know how to greet the dames better. 

"I take it this is the office of Jounouichi Katsuya?" Oh, what a purr of a voice. I really hope she didn't have another lame case for me. 

"Yeah, that's right sugar. Take a seat and tell me what's goin' on." I point to the chair in front of my desk. She walks forward, her hips rolling. Woah..those thighs make her dress move rreeaaall nice. Hmm...her hips aren't that bad either...and the chest is well...we'll leave it at the fact that it's NICE. Her neck is smooth, with a necklace resting in the crook of the collarbone. Her face is real pretty too, and those eyes are REALLY coy looking....her hair is blonde. I always had a thing for the blondes. Woah. Something ain't right here...GAHH! Those eyebrows! They're....abnormal! They're.....HUGE!!! They're STARING AT ME!!!!! 

She sits down, and bats her eyes at me...woah...those eyebrows are wigglin' at me...it's like they're WAVING at me!! She dabs at her face with a handkercheif, but even I can tell she's not really crying. 

"My name is Dorothy Catalonia Winner. I have a case for you that will interest you, Jounouchi-san." 

()()()()() 

WSJ: *cracking up* Yup, Dorothy! ^^v Most of the cliants with be from other anime, since Brood and I both like so many. :p As you can tell, neither of us really like Dorothy. Stay tuned for the next chapter! (That is if I ever figure out how to write it! *curses slightly* Well, _you_ try getting all this language and stuff right!) 

Brood: Hehehe...this case, in case you haven't figured it out yet...is with the characters of Gundam Wing! A note for the clueless there...hehehee...we will be doing cases from LOTS of different animes...*giggles* 

Phone: Ring ring. 

Brood: Yeah. My phone says "ring ring." Hehe..*picks it up* Zutso? NO I WILL NOT WIRE YOU SOME MONEY!!! ...what?.......you lost your pants to Malik?.............'SJ, it's for you. 

God bless minna-san! 


	2. Case 1: The Gundanium Plated Kidnapping

Brood: And so begins another chapter of this story! Yay! 

Chibi Joey: Can I be biggys? 

Brood: Nope! Too cute not to glomp! *procedes to glomp* 

WSJ: *snickers quietly* Hey Brood, should we tell our readers about the little April Fools prank Zutsokaki played on us? I have visual aids... *holds up pictures* 

Brood: ,O_O, NO! Don't you dare SJ!!! 

WSJ: ^___^ We don't own Gundam Wing or YGO, so there. 

()()()()() 

Chapter 2: Case 1, The Gundamium-Plated Kidnapping 

Jounouchi stared at her steadily, slightly bored. "Oh, really?" _Here's hoping she doesn't want us to get her cat out of a tree of something..._

Dorothy Catalonia Winner nodded slightly, her platinum blond hair swirling around her shoulders. "Hai. My husband has been kidnapped. Oh Jounouchi-san, you must get him back!" 

_This is more like it._ Jou thought to himself, sitting up slightly. "Of course, of course. But what makes you think he's been kidnapped?" He leaned back again, and stuck the end of a cigar in his mouth. _Mmmm, chocolate cigar!_

"Oh!" Dorothy looked started, and then dug through her purse for a moment. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to Jou, dabbing at her eyes with her hankercheif again. "That came in the mail two days after my Quatre-koi was supposed to be home from a business trip." 

Jou gave the envelope a once-over, peeked inside, then handed it to Ryou. "Well rookie, what is it?" 

Ryou suddenly looked nervous. This was, after all, his first real case. "I-I'd say it's a ransom note." 

Jou nodded. "Right. So read it already." Ryou glanced up at Jou and opened the envelope. 

" 'Dear Mrs. Winner, Your husband is very valuable to you, but he is of a bigger price to us. If you do not pay three times the usual amount by the usual contact within the next two weeks, Quatre will be of no use to anyone.' And it's just signed 'The Lighting Baron'." 

"Well now." Jou said, allowing a bit of a cocky smile to reach his face. "What do we have here Mrs Winner? How long ago did this come? What's the 'usual amount'? And more important, who's the 'usual contact'?" 

Dorothy looked suddenly nervous, and hid it by burrying her face in her hankercheif. "It came yesterday, and I don't know." she said a bit too quickly. "My husband's aid, Trowa Barton, would be the only one to know that." 

"I suppose we'll be paying a visit to Mr. Barton sometime in the near future then." Jou said. 

"And while we're on the subject, Mrs. Winner, how about discussing my payment. My usual fee isn't very cheap, especially in cases like this, where me and my rookie could get hurt." 

Dorothy looked up and opened her purse. "Payment? I can assure you that money is not an object, especially where my dear husband's safety is concerned." She sniffled and pulled out a checkbook, scribbling something out. "And here's a little in advance to prove it." 

Jou took the check and gave it a once over. He didn't dare widen his eyes at the amount, which was very high indeed. Years of training taught him not to show surprise at anything, even high dollar amounts. "That's a pretty high starting fee, Mrs. Winner, but anyway, you have my service. And by the way, any idea who this 'Lightning Baron' mentioned in the letter is?" 

"Hai," Dorothy said, nodding a bit hesitantly. "My Quatre is the head of Winner Corperations and has many enemies. But the biggest one is Milliardo Peacecraft. He runs a rival company, and would love to see Winner Corp die. Milliardo-san also doesn't like Quatre, because his little sister Relena is dating Winner Corp's vice president, Heero Yuy." 

Jou scratched his chin in thought. "Overly protective brother, eh? Hm..." He stood up abruptly. "Then we're off to see both Mr Barton and Mr Yuy. Anyone else we'd need to talk to Mrs Winner?" 

Dorothy frowned in thought. "Oh! If anyone would know of Milliardo-san's plans it would his vice president, Duo Maxwell, or his secretary. I don't know her name." 

"Right then. Ryou, will you run down and tell Shizuka we're going out for awhile?" 

Ryou nodded and left the room by the door that led to the rest of the house. Jou put his arm kindly around Dorothy's shoulder and led her to the other door, grabbing his coat and hat as he went. "Now Mrs Winner, are you all right? You have someone to take care of you?" 

"Oh yes," she said, sniffling a little. "My lady-maid, Cathrin. We get along well together, even with my Quatre-koi's absence." 

"Very good then." Jou helped her down the flight of iron stairs that led to the ground, and saw the limo waiting in the street. A rather irate Chinese man was standing outside, leaning up against it, and when he saw Dorothy he straitened and perked up. "Mrs Winner. Are you ready to be conveyed back to the estate?" 

Dorothy sniffed, this time aristocraticly as she ducked through the door that the Chinese driver held open for her. "Hai Wufei, I am." 

Wufei bowed to her as he closed the door. "Very well, ma'am." He walked with a measured step that made Jou think of carefully controlled rage around to the driver's side door and got in. A moment later the engine revved and the limo peeled out in a cloud of dust, leaving Jou coughing in front of his house. Ryou came out a few moments later, his own coat slung over one shoulder. 

"So... Where to?" 

That snapped Jou out of his contemplation of the lady and her driver, and he turned to his rookie. "Winner Corperation's main building. We're off to talk to Mr Barton and Mr Yuy." 

Ryou nodded and left Jou, and a moment later Jou's old, beat-up black mercedies benz pulled around the side of the house with Ryou behind the wheel. Jou tossed his coat into the back seat on top of Ryou's and got in next to him. "I trust you know the way well enough to give me directions?" the white-haired man asked. "Because I don't." 

Jou looked at him strangely. "It's the only building taller than Kaiba Corp, which in turn is the only one taller then Merquize Inc, Milliardo Peacecraft's company. Where have you been your whole life that you don't know _that?_" 

Ryou frowned, and his eyes got a slightly far-away look. "Travelling with the theatre troupe." 

"So that Hiro guy was tellin' the truth? You really did live with the troupe and everything?" 

"Hiro wouldn't lie." Ryou said, slightly offended. "I've known him long enough to know that." 

"So what made you leave? And what was up with that Anzu chic?" 

Ryou shot him a look and frowned. "This isn't the time Jounouchi-sama. And I'm not one of your cases. It's not your business anyway." 

Jou raised an eyebrow, an expression that Ryou didn't see, as he was driving. _'Well well,'_ he thought to himself. _'This is getting very intresting indeed...'_

"Hold up," he said a moment later. "We might as well stop at Merquize Inc. I'd forgotten that you go right by it to get to Winner Corp." 

They rode the elevator up to the floor just below the top floor, where the vice president and other high-level people worked. As soon as the two stepped out of the elevator they were confronted with a rather intresting sight. A young woman a little younger then Ryou was sitting behind a desk, trying to stay serious as a man a little older leaned over her, nibbling her ear and whispering what had to be sultry things to her. "Duo! Duo _stop_, we've got visitors!" 

The man, Duo, pouted and leaned his elbows against the desk, his long brown braid of hair falling over his shoulder. He didn't even look at Jou and Ryou, just at the woman. "Awww, come on Hilde-babe..." 

"Not now." she said firmly. "We'll play later." She gave him a lusty wink, and he grinned. Jou and Ryou just looked at each other and shrugged as they stepped up to the desk. "How can I help you? I'm the secretary, Hilde Schebeiker-Maxwell." 

"And I'm vice president of Merquize Inc." Duo said, extending his hand. "Duo Maxwell." 

Jou didn't take the pro-offered hand. Instead he just looked at it, and slowly Duo lowered it, the smile on his face drooping just the barest bit. "Jounouchi Katsuya, private investigatior. This is my partner, Ryou Hiroki. We were employed by Mrs Dorothy Winner to investigate the disappearance and possible kidnapping of her husband, Quatre Winner." 

Hilde looked alarmed. "Oh my goodness! Who would do such a thing?! Poor Dorothy..." 

Jou's eyes were on Duo. He didn't look surprised. The VP even looked a bit... Smug? Jou's eyes narrowed dangerously. _Add one to the list of suspects... _

"Is Dorothy all right?" Hilde was asking Ryou. "She and I are good friends, dispite working for opposite companies." 

"She was when she came to us this morning." Ryou said, then thought about it. "Mostly." 

"Surely you don't suspect Zechs." Duo said, then started. "Er, Milliardo." 

Something clicked in the back of Jou's mind, but he couldn't place it. He frowned slightly. "Yes, we do. Anyone close to Mr Winner in any way is a suspect. Even Mrs Winner. Right down to the lowest servent in their house." he added, thinking about the irate driver, Wufei. "Come on Ryou, I don't think we're going to figure out anything else here, and we stil have another stop to make." _Besides, I know we've just found something important. If only I could figure out what..._

They arrived at Winner Corp at about ten-after-two, and all the high-level people were just getting out of a big board meeting. Trowa Barton and Heero Yuy were easy to spot, talking earnestly together and the last to leave the conference room. As the pair drew near to Jou and Ryou and caught sight of them, Heero cut off his friend and associate mid-sentence with a small downward chop of his hand. 

"May we help you?" Trowa asked. 

"Hai," Jou said. "Mr Barton and Mr Yuy, I presume?" The two men nodded, and the blond PI continued. "I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, private investigator. My partner and I have been employed by Mrs Winner to search for her husband. She told us that you two may have some information critical to the case." 

Heero and Trowa exchanged long glances, an unreadable conversation going on between them. Finally Heero nodded, and Trowa sighed, and then gestured them toward a door engraved with Heero's name. The four filed in, and Trowa and Ryou took seats. Heero sat down behind his desk, while Jou remained standing with his arms crossed. 

"First off, Dorothy shouldn't have brought anyone else into this." Heero said, clearly unhappy about this. "I told her the two of us would take care of it, but as usual she didn't listen." He held up a hand as Jou made to ask a question. "You may have noticed that Trowa and I aren't exactly suit and tie business-types." 

It was true. Both were dressed in dress slacks and button-down shirts, but Heero's shirt was untucked and the first button of his shirt was undone, and he was wearing a leather jacket over top. Trowa's vest was left open, and his shirt too had the top button undone. 

"It's because we're not." Trowa said bluntly, reaching under his vest. He pulled out a revolver, and Jou's eyes widened, though not in fear, since Trowa held the gun easily and made no move to aim or fire. 

"Holy sh--." 

Heero too had pulled a gun out from under his jacket and laid it gently on the table. "We aren't technically businessmen. We're bodyguards. I'm former military, Trowa's former CIA." 

"You were a spy?" Ryou blurted, staring at the man next to him with a mixture of awe and amazement. Trowa stared at him a long time before nodding once. Jou frowned at his rookie partner's rudeness. 

"Quatre hired us to watch his back." Trowa said. "But we didn't think we'd have to protect him from his own." 

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, but before either of the men could answer, Jou was suddenly out the door and running at full tilt toward the elevator. Heero and Trowa looked at Ryou, who sighed. "He does that." 

Heero took off running after the blond, while Trowa just stayed where he was. In fact, the former-spy leaned back and propped his feet up on Heero's desk, smiling a little and winking candidly at the stunned Ryou. "So, anything else you'd like to ask me, young one?" 

Heero caught up with Jou just as the elevator doors started to close, and the PI held them open a moment so that the Perfect Soldier could get inside. "Why'd you take off?" Heero demanded as the elevator began to decend. He jammed his revolver back into its holster, having only had time to grab it before running after Jou. 

"Because," Jou said grimmly, shifting his weight forward onto the balls of his feet as if preparing for a fight. "I have to get back to Merquize Inc." Heero gave him a 'why?' look. "Duo would have warned his boss by now, and they may kill Quatre, or at least move him somewhere else. I recognise the name that Duo let slip now. 'Zechs' was the name of the leader of a cult/gang that I rounded up about a year and a half ago. We never did end up catching 'Zechs' himself." 

A look of understanding dawned on Heero's face. "So if Duo tells Milliardo, aka Zechs, that you're on his tail, he'll do away with the evidence, namely Quatre." 

"Right," Jou said. "And it gets worse. I just said that I took in his gang a year ago. Well, I also inadvertantly killed his lover, Lucrezia Noin. If Zechs knows I'm still around, he's going to want my blood bad." 

The elevator doors opened and both men sprinted for the street and Jou's car, leaving a startled doorman in their wake. 

~*~ 

So here's the case so far. Me and my rookie got called onto the job, and Duo, VP of Merquize Inc., let it slip that Milliardo, President and owner of that company, was really the notorious leader of the White Fang Gang, Zechs. This was gettin' a little too big for my britches. I knew I couldn't take my rookie in when I went to take in Zechs, 'cause he'd do anything to get at me for killing his woman. I know I wouldn't mind revenge if.......nevermind. 

Anyway, I don't think Mr. Winner's wife is as innocent as she looks. Something tells me she needs actin' lessons. But why would she practically give me the directions to where she stashed her husband by pointing out people that are obvious suspects? Hmm...that driver's lookin' suspicious as well. Now I can tell an innocent dame from a guilty one any day, and that Hilde Maxwell is one innocent dame, even if her husband is lookin' at the near top of my suspect list. And I'm wonderin' if I can't trust those two bodyguard mugs, Trowa and Heero, to help me out on this case....because I know I may need some backup fire on this....What a way to get out of a slump, huh? 

()()()()() 

Brood: Phew! Another chapter done! And only two reviews on the first one? Awww...come on guys, you like us better than that!!! 

Zutsokaki: No they don't. 

Brood: *fume* No talking! Still mad at you! 

Zutsokaki: *innocently* For what? 

WSJ: *snickers* The afforementioned April Fools prank. I think you'll be in the dog-house awhile Zutso... 

Zutsokaki: X.x;; 

God bless minna-san! 


	3. Case 1: Part 2: Gun Shy

Brood: Waaaii! Chapter three! We love you readers, please review for us! 

Zutsokaki: ..........I myself am amazed at the lack of response, since both of you are good writers and usually get good feedback..... 

Brood: *falls over and twitches in shock as well* 

Zutsokaki: Was it something I said? 

WSJ: *also twitching slightly* Must... Get... More... Reviews...!! 

Disclaimer: We don't own any of it. Just our OC's, though I don't think they're even in this chapter. :p 

()()()()() 

CHAPTER 3 

Jounouchi spun the steering wheel of his car, causing it to swerve around the corner so fiercly that Heero Yuy had to hold onto the dashboard and armrest for support. 

"Think you could go a little SLOWER!?" 

Jou's brow furrowed at Heero's slighty ticked tone of voice. "I think you, in your previous and present line of work would understand why we need to get over to the Merquize buildin' NOW!! They're gonna kill the president of Winner Corp if we don't get a move on!" 

Heero looked at Jou for a split second with his hard cobalt eyes and then gave a sharp nod. "Just try to drive with a little less spin to it, or we'll both be greasy smears on the windshield and no help to Mr. Winner at all!" 

Jou gave a smirk and kept his eyes on the road. "We are almost there! Get ready, we don't know what they have in store for us, because by now, they more than likely know we're on to them!" 

"Why's that, detective?" 

"Because while me an' my rookie were up there earlier, the vice president, Duo Maxwell, accidentally called Milliardo Peacecraft "Zechs." He wouldn't let that fact slip his mind, or the fact that he more than likely knows who I am. He's either kickin' himself in the fanny, or he's settin' somthin' up for us....." 

Heero once again responded by nodding, his dark brown bangs bobbing. The car screeched to a messy halt in front of the building and the two men dashed out of the car and into the building. 

The front lobby was fairly normal, with people coming and going, and a receptionist behind the desk. Jou and Heero hadn't taken out their guns when they got out of the car, to avoid alerting and scaring civilians. 

The receptionist looked up and saw them, and wordlessly pressed a button. Jou had caught this motion at the same time Heero did, and the both looked at each other, wondering what to do next. 

But before they could even open their mouths, a guard walked up behind them and said quietly into their ears, "Please come this way gentlemen, our Vice President would like a word with you." 

They had no other course of action at this point, due to the civilians in the lobby. So they merely followed the guard into an elevator, one chancing looks at the other now and again, seeming to say, "keep on your toes." 

After a moment, the elevator stopped and the guard tapped a place on the wall. A panel slid up and a fingerprint indicator was revealed. The guard placed his thumb on it, and after a second, a low "Ping" noise was heard. The back of the elevator slid open, a door that hadn't even been noticed by Heero or Jou, and they were led through it. 

They were now standing in a very posh office, with black leather furniture that Jou quickly identified as Italian import, (most probably gotten by dubious means) and a large mahogany desk with an expensive looking finish. There were a few lamps illuminating the room, the flourescent lighting on the ceilings left off. 

"Take a seat gentlemen, the Vice President will be with you shortly...." and with that, the guard disappeared. 

"....So what do you think, Detective?" Heero turned his head to face Jou. 

"I think it's a setup. They're tryin' to keep us away from Winner so they can make a clean cut of 'em. I say we try to find a way out besides that elevator." 

"I don't think there is." Heero walked over to windows, which had large black shadings over them. "There's a twenty story or so drop from there, and there seems to be video cameras in here as well. There's no way they'd leave us completely unguarded." 

"If there are cameras in here, then it may be like they WANT us to look for a way out...." Joey shifted his feet and looked in the direction of the large desk. 

"Yeah." 

As an afterthought, Jou walked over to the elevator again and hit the button. The light came on and he could hear the elevator coming. _Well at least that's still an option._

"......Good afternoon gentlemen....welcome to my private office." And Duo Maxwell stepped in from an unseen entrance in the shadows. 

~*~ 

Ryou, still inside of Heero's office with Heero's partner, Trowa, was contemplating what could have made Jou get up and run off so fast. He stood up and leaned on the wall by the window, looking seventeen stories down. Trowa leaned back in Heero's chair and looked out into the hallway. 

_Good. Nobody's around._

Trowa stood up and walked behind Ryou. "Steep fall, huh?" 

Ryou nodded without turning his head away from the window. "Hey, do you have any idea why Jou ran out like that?" 

"I may have an idea." 

"Really?" Ryou still didn't move his head away from the windows, his eyes falling on a passing limosine. There seemed to be something on the roof of the limo. _Merquize Inc. A company limo? Jou and Mrs. Winner said that they had to do with President Winner's abduction...._

Since the door was situated close to the desk and the window, it was a simple matter for Trowa to lean backwards, and shut the door. Ryou's head snapped up at the sound of the door shutting and turned his head in time to see Trowa holding the .9mm pistol he had previously had on Heero's desk. 

"What are you doing!?" 

Trowa's face was an emotionless mask as he leveled the gun to Ryou's chest. 

"Because he knew who was to be trusted." Trowa took two steps forward and now the muzzle of the gun was an inch away from Ryou's heart. "Do you know what happens when a gun is discharged at this close range?" His visible eye narrowed. 

All the colour had drained from Ryou's face, his brown eyes wide. "Wh-why are you doing this?" 

There wasn't any way to deny that Ryou was scared. He was scared shitless. He was about two heartbeats away from fainting. 

"Your boss shouldn't have gotten himself involved." Trowa said, cocking the gun. "We weren't going to kill anyone, but now it's a necessity." 

"Wh-what are you talking ab-bout?" Ryou's eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out of this. He couldn't see any. Unless you counted jumping out of the window, and that didn't seem better than being shot at. 

_What a great first "real" case....._

Trowa's mouth moved into a thin-lipped smile. "Oh no you don't, I've been around long enough to know how stupid it is to tell anyone your plans, even if you plan to kill them." His finger slowly tightened on the trigger. 

~*~ 

Jou and Heero tensed as soon as they heard Duo's mocking and lilting voice. "So, you caught on, Detective, what was going on. Too bad you don't know the whole story quite yet....and I see that you brought one of Quatre Winner's body guards. Hmm....is your rookie very....trained?" 

"What's that got to do with anythin'!?" Jou reddened in anger. 

"Oh....just a simple question really...." Duo flipped his long braid over his shoulder and stroked the end of it. "But I'm sure he's not very safe." Duo Maxwell made a tsk tsk noise. "Shame shame, detective. Leaving your new untrained rookie in such danger...." 

"What are you talking about!!!!!???" Jou clenched his fists and Heero drew his gun, levelling it on Duo's head. 

"Ahh ahh, Mr. Yuy. I wouldn't be so rash. I can give the signal for Quatre Winner's execution before you could pull the trigger." He revealed a small control in his hand, a green button situated on it's center. "When I press this, that gives the signal for the gunmen in the room with our friend to open fire. It wouldn't be pretty if they ever found his body...." 

Heero's face didn't lose any of it's hardened and battle-trained expression, but he lowered the gun. 

Duo took a few steps towards the elevator, adjusting the tie on his black Armani suit, and lowering the control in his hands. "So men, you wanted to leave so soon? Calling the elevator..." 

Heero raised the gun with great speed, Jou drawing his to level it on Duo as well. But as soon as Duo saw the movements begin, he raised the control again. "Ah! I wouldn't......" He , Jou, and Heero all lowered their items at the same time, slowly, with Jou and Heero's eyes never leaving Duo's amused and smirking expression. 

Duo let out a small chuckle. "And what did you boys hope to possibly do? We have Winner, we have his company in a bind...." 

"Wait. How?" Jou's eyes clouded with confusion. 

"Are you so blind? With Winner out of the way, his wife being the heiress to the millions of dollars, it will be a simple matter to discuss....a merger...if you will....of the two companies. Merquize Inc. will be the monopolizer of Asian industry!" 

"Is this what this is all about? Just the money and knocking off one man?" Heero's face showed surprisingly little emotion, but his voice was laced with anger. 

"Making millions more than you already do was never more simple!" Duo's face cracked into a huge grin and then he threw his head back and laughed. The two saw their opportunity. Jou ran up and grabbed Duo's hand that was holding the controller, and Heero grabbed the other hand just as the elevator came up to their floor and stopped. Duo's laughing had ceased immediately when Jou had grabbed him, and he was now struggling. 

"Hey! Let me go! You WILL release me at ONCE!!" 

"Not a chance, laughin' boy! Get in the elevator, we're goin' for a ride!" Jou kept a strong hold on Duo's arm and he and Heero led him inside. Once the doors were shut, Duo relaxed in their holds. Then he closed his eyes and smirked, lifting one of his legs and softly tapping a secret "emergency" button on the lower part of the wall. 

_Good! Now Zechs and the others know that I'm with them...it worked perfectly.....they're about to walk into a lovely trap made just for them!" _ Duo smirked again and waited for a few moments for the elevator to stop. _By this time, they should have the lobby just about evacuated for the "fire drill." Just another moment...and they'll have the "anti-fire" shutters down as well. Nobody'll see, and we'll have no witnesses!_

~*~ 

I wasn't quite sure what this mug was up to here in the elevator, since he just relaxed and stopped complainin' just as soon as we got the elevator movin'. Maybe he figured that there was nothin' he could do while he was in there in the elevator with us. I wonder how the people in the lobby would take seein' the vice president of the company bein' led out of the buildin' by a couple of strangers. The last thing I want is to be convicted of kidnappin' here, when he's the real kidnapper. 

That Yuy guy is lookin' cold as ice. He musta been really well trained. Suddenly I think about his partner, that Barton guy. Wait a sec. Maxwell said something about Ryou bein' in danger..... 

"Yuy! What do you know about your partner!?" Heero's head comes up, and I can feel Duo shift a little under me. 

"Not much really. He's ex-CIA, and around my age. Hired specially by Mr. Winner's wife." 

Great. That's all the information!? And since Mrs. Winner herself is up on my list of suspects... 

"Maxwell!! Barton's workin' for ya, isn't he!?" 

He starts chucklin'.....he's laughin'!! 

"Took you long enough...._Detective_." Ouch. He really spat that last part out. "It doesn't matter anyway, your partner's dead already!" 

Heero's lookin' really mad now....this is gettin' tougher and tougher. What if Barton really did kill the kid!? I'd be responsible, just because I got stupid and left him alone, runnin' on some old hunch! My stomach's churnin' now.....I feel really bad. I dunno what's takin' me over, but I start seein' red. I realize I'm goin' for my gun.... 

"DETECTIVE JOUNOUCHI!! Don't do that!" Heero's voice cuts at me, stoppin' me. "We don't know for certain if he's got your partner or not! He might have gotten away!" 

"Not likely!!! Trowa's well trained....never let a target get away....." That Duo jerk is still snickerin'! That lowly...no good.....bastard! 

_Ping._

~*~ 

Jou was about to strike at Duo out of his anger, but the doors of the elevator slid open, and they all looked out. What had previously been the lobby was now a dark and very abandoned room. The desks and chairs were still there, with many tables and information desks, but it was dead and dark. There were shutters over the windows and everything was silent. 

"What the...." Jou's voice was lost in the silent echo of the room. 

"And this gentlemen," Duo began, wrenching his arms free of the two, taking advantage of their surprise, "is where you get off!" He ran out into the room, pulling something out of his coat jacket. A gun. 

Just as he was about to fire though, Heero and Jou jumped in opposite directions and the shot went inside the elevator. They each had their guns out in a flash, and they dove behind desks or chairs. 

"Yuy! We gotta find a way out of here!" Jou ducked behind the desk as a few bullets hit the frame by his head. 

"There isn't a way out that we can't get shot heading towards!" Heero called back, crouching behind a chair. 

Jou was the first to return fire. When Duo was concentrating on aiming at Heero, Jou aimed his gun above the desk and fired a round towards Duo, but he moved at the last second, inching closer to Heero's side of the room. Jou swore as Duo heard the bullet whiz past him, and he had to kneel behind the desk again as Duo opened fire. 

"Shimatta....this going back and forth isn't gonna work, Yuy! We gotta find some other way of doin' this!" 

Heero turned to respond, but suddenly Duo took advantage of the lack of attention on his part and took off, taking a walkie talkie off of his belt. He had a couple of calls to make. 

Jou and Heero shot up and immedately took off after him. 

~*~ 

Just as Trowa was pulling the trigger on the frightened Ryou, a radio crackled from somewhere. Trowa sighed and pulled a walky-talky off his belt, the gun still trained on Ryou. "Talk to me." 

A voice came over the radio, distorted but identifyable as that of Duo Maxwell. "We're in trouble Barton." the braided one said without any preamble. "Yuy and that Katsuya guy are after us." 

"Us?" Trowa asked. 

"Zechs and I." 

"Where are you?" Trowa snapped, his face tightening. 

"Don't worry, we're not stupid enough to head for Quatre. We're leading them right into headquarters, then we'll ambush them. I've already informed Zechs of what's going on. He's setting it up in the parking lot as we speak" There was a sound rather like gunfire, and Duo yelped. "Gotta run Tro', we'll be in touch." 

The radio died, and Trowa cursed, tossing it over his shoulder. When he turned back to face Ryou, he found the white-haired man gone. "Shi-" 

He heard a sound behind him and whirled around, sending of a breif burst of shots. Ryou yelped and ducked away from the door, diving toward Trowa's legs. He brought the bigger man down on top of him, Trowa still cursing and trying to bring the gun around to bear on his attacker. 

Ryou tried to hang onto him, but was inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat (or any form of combat save the martial arts), and with a sharp jolt Trowa sent him flying across the room and into the wall. The collision knocked all the breath Ryou had out of him, and he stood half-leaning spread eagled against the wall, panting. 

Trowa got to his feet with a grunt, wiping some blood away from the corner of his mouth where a lucky punch of Ryou's had gotten through. "Kissima, you'll pay for that." He brought the gun to bear on the rookie again, and Ryou had no strength left to doge the bullets. 

The first one caught him in the right shoulder, the second in the right side of the stomach. He fell forward with a sort of startled gasp and narrowly missed receiving a third bullet in the neck. He hit the floor with a thud and a cry of pain, and Trowa smirked down at him before bending to retreive his radio, which he clicked on. 

"Hey Maxwell, I have a bit of good news for you. Of course, that would make it bad news to the blondie chasing after you." 

Ryou lay on the floor barely concious, his blood leaking onto the expensive beige carpeting of Heero's office. As he drifted in and out of awareness, something Jou had once said drifted through his mind. 

_"Always remember Ryou, a good cop, even a retired one, keeps a spare gun in his desk. He'd be sunk if he didn't." _

Somehow Ryou gathered his strength and pulled open the lower-most drawer of Heero's desk. Sure enough, there was a smaller .9mm pistol in there. He pulled it out and managed to get it cocked, aiming it toward Trowa who was standing with his back to Ryou, talking to Duo over the radio. Ryou closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, heard the shot and Trowa's cry of surprise and pain, and then nothing more as he slumped over. 

~*~ 

Relena Peacecraft, younger sister of Milliardo "Zechs" Peacecraft, walked through the halls of Winner Corp. slowly. 

_Now I know Heero told me his office was here somewhere! If I could just remember which floor.....I'm sure it's this floor! _

BANG BANG BANG!!!..............................................................BANG! 

"Oh my goodness!" Relena turned her head, looking at the door beside her, reading the name. _Heero Yuy....this is his office! Oh no! What if he's hurt!?_

She tried opening the door, but it was locked. Setting her face in determination, she stepped back a few paces and ran at the door, ramming it open with her shoulder. 

She stared in horror as Trowa Barton fell, clutching at a wound in his chest. Nearby lay another man, with long white hair, who had Heero's back-up pistol in one hand. 

The white-haired man looked up at her with woozie eyes. "Sh-shizuka?" 

"No," Relena said trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "What happened?" 

"He tried to kill me," Ryou said, trying to raise himself onto his hands and knees. "Got to... Got to warn Jounouchi..." 

Relena dropped to her knees beside him, trying to to retch at the scent and sight of fresh blood. "You're hurt, just lay still!" 

"Can't." Ryou wheezed, finally suceeding in getting to his feet, though he was leaning heavily against Heero's desk. "Jou and Mr. Yuy are in trouble." He saw Trowa suddenly, and his brown eyes widened in horror. "Oh god... I killed him..." 

Relena shook her head, having just taken his pulse. "He's alive. Now sit down before you fall down!" She was beginning to get hysterical, and ran into the hallway. She spotted Heero's secretary and screamed at her to call an ambulance before running back into the office. 

"Jou..." Ryou murmered, only half-concious and now sitting back on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Jou, he's... It's a trap..." 

And then he slipped mercifully unconcious. 

~*~ 

"Nii-sama!!" Seto Kaiba, detective, looked up from his desk to his little brother, who was standing in the doorway. 

"What is it Mokuba?" 

"Are you watching the news?" Mokuba asked, coming into his brother's office. 

"Someone got shot over at Winner Corp!" Seto's head shot up. 

"Shot?" Kaiba frowned. "Are you sure Mokuba?" 

"Positive. The police are trying to keep it quiet, but there's a huge crowd over there." 

Seto sighed and stood up, pulling his trench coat on over his suit. "Come on then Mokuba, this sounds like something for us to handle. It's more than likely linked to that other case we got the other day." 

When the Kaiba's arrived at Winner Corp and pushed through the gathering crowd of people, Ryou was just being wheeled out of the building on a stretcher. Mokuba and Seto exchanged shocked looks and ran forward. 

Before they could reach the white-haired man, another man stepped into their path. He was wearing the blue uniform of a policeman, and the pistol at his belt meant business. Intrestingly, he looked rather like Ryou. 

"Where do you think you're going?" 

Seto sighed again. "Okay, I'll admit, I look different in a suit, Bakura. Is that any reason not to recognise me?" 

Bakura Tamiya gave Seto a once over and nodded. "Just making sure Kaiba. This kid, Ryou, he's Jou's new rookie, isn't he?" 

Kaiba nodded. "I think so. I've never actually met him though." 

At just that moment Ryou awoke and tried to sit up. He let out a cry of pain and dropped back, panting slightly. "Jou! H-he's in trouble!" 

Bakura and Kaiba were instantly at his side. "What do you mean kid?" 

"It's a trap!" Ryou's eyes were surprisingly awake and wild with fear. 

Bakura and the Kaiba brothers exchanged glances, and Bakura voiced what all three were thinking. 

"This can't be good." 

()()()()() 

Brood: Bwahahaha! Only the third chapter, and we've already shot someone! 

Zutsokaki: Yeesh, you could have the same sort of initiative with YOUR stories..... 

WSJ: :p Yeah Brood! Shooting people is fun. Even if it is sweet little Ryou. ^^v In stories, of course. Not real life... *sweatdrops and whistles innocently* 

God bless minna-san! 


	4. Case 1 Part 3: Crack Down

Brood: *sigh* Wow, WSJ's been so hyper lately.....this writing contest she went to...well... 

Zutsokaki: She did KINDA well... 

WSJ: KINDA!?! I took FOURTH place! YAAAYYY!!!!! 

Brood: Go 'SJ! AND she's going to the state competition! Let's start the chapter now! 

WSJ: No! More news!!! Brood placed FIRST in her forensics (competetive acting) tourney, and she's going to her state competition too!!! Albeit different states... And different "sports"... ^^ But what the hey! We're both hyper as crud! 

Zutsokaki: v_v;; Oh joy.... 

Disclaimer: We own none except our OCs. 

()()()()() 

"Listen to me kid, you have to tell me what happened." 

Ryou groaned slightly as he turned his head to look at Seto Kaiba. "Jou is... walking right into a trap, I don't know where. He and Mr Yuy left, and then Mr Barton pulled a gun on me, and..." he swallowed, trying to force tears out of his eyes. 

Yami Moto, sergent of the Domino Police Force, frowned at this. Bakura had beckoned him and his younger brother Yuugi over, and now the three policemen and the Kaiba brothers were gathered around Ryou's stretcher. "I don't like the sound of this... Are you sure you don't know where they went Ryou?" 

"No... But Mr Barton was talking to someone over a radio he had. Whoever it was was the one leading Jou into the trap." 

Yami grinned almost ferrally as he strode over to where Trowa was just being carried out of the building, also on a stretcher. Dispite the startled cries of the paramedics, he grabbed the ex-spy by the collar and lifted him a good two inches off the bed, causing him to gasp in pain. "Alright, who were you talking to over that radio of yours?" 

"I .....don't know what you're talking about." Trowa said, glaring coldly at the tri-coloured-haired sergent. 

"I'll bet." Yami growled, and waved Yuugi forward. The younger Moto nodded and ran into the building. 

He immerged two minutes later, carefully carrying a walkie-talkie. It was slightly dented from where Trowa had fallen on it, and rather blood-encrusted, but it still worked. Yuugi handed it over to Bakura, who preferred playing "bad-cop" much more then Yuugi did. 

Bakura accepted the radio from him with a nod and turned it on, shoving it into Trowa's face with one hand and unholstering his gun with the other. Yami and Seto also drew guns, and Trowa gulped. It was one thing to be with the CIA, sneaking around and hoping not to get shot, and quite another to be staring down the barrels of three revolvers. "Talk." Bakura growled. "We wouldn't kill you if you didn't, but we'd sure make your life hell." 

Trowa swallowed, but before anything more could be said the radio crackled and Duo's voice came over it. "Tro, what do ya' want man? We're kinda busy!" 

"Where are you, exactly?" Trowa asked. His voice was calm, but his quick breathing and pale face made his fear readily apparent. 

"Employee parking lot of Merquize Inc, like I told ya' before. Now shut up, Yuy and Katsuya are on their way." Abruptly Duo snapped off his end of the connection, causing Trowa's to go to static. 

Bakura cursed, and he, Yami, and Seto took off down the street with a couple other officers in tow. Mokuba and Yuugi stayed to supervise the cleaning up and crowd control at Winner Corp. Trowa sunk back down to his gunnery with a wheezing sort of choke, and the paramedics rushed him toward the ambulance. 

Ryou was just about to be loaded in as well when someone pushed to the front of the crowd, yelling his name. Yuugi told her to stay back, but Ryou roused slightly and lifted his head. "Shizuka?" 

Shizuka pushed past Yuugi and ran toward him, with tears on her cheeks. "Oh my god Ryou! I saw the news. Are you alright?" 

Ryou laughed weakly, then coughed. "Does it look like it?" Shizuka quickly noticed that Ryou's voice had a slight slur to it as he talked to her. 

Shizuka turned to the lady paramedic who was hovering over Ryou. She was dressed in the white uniform of a doctor, but the insignia on her sleeve proclaimed her to be also with the Domino Police. "Please, let me go with him! Jou is my brother, and Ryou's my friend! Please!" 

The woman paused, her black hair twitching in the slight wind, then nodded and waved Yuugi over. "Yuugi, ride with Ryou and this young lady in the ambulance and do the crowd control thing at the hospital for me, 'kay? I'll stay and mop up here." 

Yuugi saluted her, but smirked slightly. "And wait for Seto to get back, eh Isis?" 

Captain Isis Ishtar frowned, then blushed slightly and nodded. "Hai, are you happy now? Now go. Mr Hiroki here should have been at the hospital already." 

Yuugi nodded with slight alarm as he noticed that Ryou had passed out again. He climbed up into the waiting ambulance and then helped Shizuka in after him. The ambulance carrying the traitor Trowa Barton had already roared off down the street. 

"So you're Jou's little sister?" 

Shizuka nodded, then looked as if something had just occured to her. "Where _is_ my brother?" 

"Um..." Yuugi gulped. "Er..." 

Shizuka sighed. "He went off chasing some villain again, didn't he?" 

Yuugi blinked. "Actually, yes, he did." 

Shizuka chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "No need to pussy-foot it around me, Moto-san. Jou always tells me about his cases. Now tell me, is he in any danger?" 

"Hai," Yuugi said after a moment's pause. "He and Yuy are walking straight into a trap." 

"Again?" 

Yuugi sat up and stared at her. "Again? For the sake of your brother, you had better tell me what you mean, Shizuka." 

"Well," Shizuka frowned, gathering her thoughts together. "It was about a year-and-a-half ago, one of Jou's very first big cases..." 

~*~ 

"Hold it." 

Heero's soldier instincts came into play and he skidded to a stop, looking back over his shoulder at Jou while keeping the other eye on the fleeing Duo Maxwell. "What is it, Detective?" he growled, his trigger finger twitching slightly. 

Jou was frowning as he stared into the middle distance. "This is really, really familiar..." Suddenly his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers quietly. "Maxwell's leadin' us right into a trap. I've seen this one before." 

"So what do we do about it?" 

"Trap 'em back." Jou said, grinning almost evilly. "All we gotta do is get around behind them and ambush their ambush." 

"Sounds good to me. Let's do it, Detective." Something had changed in Heero's voice. He no longer used 'detective' as a derogative. It was almost... Respectful. 

Jou caught the change in tone easily enough and grinned at the Perfect Soldier, giving him a wink and a thumbs up. "Right. Now come on." 

~*~ 

Duo dropped into a crouch next to Zechs behind a pile of crates in the corner of the parking lot, panting. "They should be right behind me, boss." 

"Good," Zechs said, keeping his eyes on the door through which Duo had just ran. They should be coming out of it any minute... He raised his right hand in signal, and all around the parking lot, behind other piles of boxes and parked cars, came the sounds of guns cocking. Everyone was in place. Zechs allowed himself the luxery of a smirk. 

Katsuya had taken in his entire gang a year ago, but Zechs had rebuilt it, better then ever. Katsuya would pay for bringing his first organization to ruin. He would pay for the killing of Lucrezia Noin, the only woman Zechs had ever trully loved. Sure, there had been others over the months, including that bimbo Dorothy Winner. But no one like Noin. No one ever like Noin. 

Zechs growled, his hand tightening around his gun, which was leveled at the door. Yes, Katsuya would pay dearly. 

~*~ 

"Everyone back up! Domino Police!" 

The crowd around the front of Merquize Inc opened up like Moses and the Red Sea, allowing the officers access to the front of the building. After a quick examination, it was reveiled that all the fire-sheilds were down, rendering the company practically impregnable. 

"Kuso!" Bakura cursed, slamming a fist into the building's metal hide. "We've got to get in!" 

"Oh please!" Nearby a petite, purple-black-haired woman was pleading with Seto, "My husband's still in there!" 

"Calm down Miss," he assured her. "Do you know the codes to get us in?" 

Hilde nodded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Hai. Here," She went over to a control panel mounted just around the corner and typed in the set of numbers that Duo had taught her. The metal doors gave a shudder, and then began to grind open. Employees stepped forward to go back inside, thinking that the fire drill was over. Yami urged them to stay back. 

"We've got a situation here," he yelled to all of them. "Please stay back!" He then turned to his officers. "Roba, Kounji, stay out here and keep everyone out of the building. Roba, while you're at it, radio headquarters for back-up. Ryuzaki, Bakura, Kaiba, you're with me. Now let's go." 

"Wait," Hilde said, stepping forward. "I know Merquize Inc like the back of my hand. Let me go with you!" 

Yami started to protest, but Seto held up a hand. "You're Hilde Maxwell, right? The VP's wife?" Hilde nodded, and he frowned. "We should let her come Yami. She might be able to talk some sense into her husband." 

Hilde gasped. "What do you mean?!" 

For the moment she was ignored as Yami rounded on Seto, his fists clenched. "Look Kaiba, I out-rank you three times over, and you're not even part of Domino Police. I don't know why you came along, but you have no right to counter-act my orders." 

"Wherever the puppy-dog is concerned, I'm involved, no question." Kaiba said loftily, looking down his nose at the shorter sergent. 

Yami growled at him. "Look Kaiba, it's no secret that you and Jou don't like each other. It's also no secret that I don't like you. But we already have enough lives at stake here without putting one more woman in the bullet's path!" 

"I can take care of myself!" Hilde said, pushing in between them. "Really, I can!" 

"We're already wasting too much time." Bakura snapped, taking her side. "Let's just go! The quicker we get in there, the quicker we can wrap things up and get out." 

Yami and Seto, after shooting one last glare at each other, nodded at the white-haired liutenent. They turned on their heels and sprinted toward the building, Hilde right behind them. Bakura and Ryuzaki exchanged a look and a shrug, and then chased after them. 

"We need to get to the employee parking lot." Seto yelled over his shoulder. "Which way?" 

"I know," Hilde said, pushing to the front of the group. "Over here!" She pushed against the door and burst forth into the sunlight. 

~*~ 

Zechs grinned as the door flew open, his finger tightening on the trigger of his gun. At the very last moment, Duo's shoulder slammed into his own shoulder and sent the shot wide. "What do you think you're doing Maxwell??" 

"That's my _wife_!!!" Duo screamed back at him. 

Zechs cursed when he saw that Duo was right. Hilde got pushed down behind a car by one of the policemen, who then dove down next to her. "This is not good..." 

And then all hell burst loose. 

~*~ 

So 'ere Yuy and I were, crawlin' around in ventilation shafts. Thank kami neither of us are very big. The Merquize Inc building is situated so that the employee parking lot is surrounded on three sides by the building, in a sort of 'U' shape. 

Yuy knows the shafts like nobody's business, and I ain't gonna ask how he knows. But he's leadin' us around to the other side, so that we can drop out'a a shaft right on top a' those bakayaros. "You sure ya' know where we're goin'?" I asked him. "Seems like we're goin' in circles to me." 

"Keep it down," he hissed. "Yes, I know where we're going. Look." He points out the grill in front of us, and I crawl forward to look. Sure enough, Zechs and Maxwell are crouched behind some boxes right in front of us. I grin and draw my gun, and Yuy does the same, gettin' into a possition to kick the grill out'a the wall. I know Zechs' face anywhere....and I should too....Heero's "partner" Trowa is familiar too, I realize suddenly. Shit, he's all over the wanted poster in the police station. Hopefully the kid's all right... But there's no time for a guilt trip now. 

Heero's just about to kick it when I notice the door into the building, the one everyone's expectin' us to come out of, fly open. I watch in sort-of doomed facination as that Hilde chic comes runnin' out, followed by Sergent Moto, Liutenent Tamiya, and, well well............my old buddy Seto Kaiba. 

The gang goes haywire, shootin' starts, and Heero kicks down the grill with a grunt, voicing what I'm pretty sure all 'a us was thinkin'. 

"Aw hell..." 

()()()()() 

Brood: And another chapter competed here! Waaiii! Reviews please! I WUB YOU ALLS!!! And nothing nasty......we don't really appreciate BAD reviews.... 

WSJ: *sweatdrop* Yeah...we sure don't..... 

Zutsokaki: Zzzzzzz............ 

God bless minna-san! 


	5. Case 1: Ending: Blood and Tears

Brood: Wow! Chapter five! Time flies, ne? 

WSJ: Yup! ^^ 

Brood: Oh, for those wondering about the progress of my story, "Another Chance At Everything," well....let's just say this. Writers Block. Really really BIG writers block. Don't think it's over by ANY means! 

WSJ: *snorts* Well I would HOPE not.... I still want to murder Teodora!! *mutters about stupid Portugese people* 

Brood: *sweatdrop* 

WSJ: ^^v Hey, she's stalking Ryou! That's MY job! 

Brood and Ryou: *MAJOR sweatdrop* 

Disclaimer: We don't own YGO or Gundam W. 

Ryou Hiroki's eyes fluttered open, and at first, all he saw was white. This sent him into a small panic, and he began to gasp. ...Dead, I'm dead.... His eyes widened and he sat up immediately, sending a bolt of pain through his abdomen. ...dead people don't have pain! He flopped back down into his bed and gasped once more. Then a face appeared in the white haze of his vision. An angel? Is this an angel? Maybe this is heaven..... 

"Ryou? Ryou!? Are you alright!? It's Shizuka!" The haze started to clear, and with some difficulty, Ryou adjusted his eyes to his real surroundings. He was laying in a hospital bed with various machines attached to him. 

"You shouldn't move like that, Ryou! Don't scare us again!" 

Ryou found his voice with some difficulty. "Shi....Shizuka-chan...is....Jou-san safe?" He stared into those worried brown eyes of Shizuka's and felt his chest warm up. 

Shizuka looked away from Ryou's eyes then. "I don't know. I really don't." 

Ryou relaxed, despite the bad news. "How long have I been here?" 

"For about half an hour now. Who knows what's happened to Jou since we took you away from Winner Corp......" 

~*~ 

Heero and Jou jumped out of the ventilation shafts just as the firing started. As Jou jumped down, he saw Duo holding his gun tentativly. Well of course...now that Duo knew his wife was in the room, he wasn't so willing to do any shooting.. 

"Hey look, over there!" Oh great, one of Zech's goons spotted them coming down. Zechs and Duo spun around with their guns, surprise lighting the faces of both men. Jou and Heero's guns were up quickly, and now they were staring down the barrels of each other's weapons. 

The shooting stopped suddenly. Now both the White Fang Gang and the Domino Police Department were watching Jou, Heero, Duo, and Zechs's standoff. All of them still had their fingers on their triggers. The tension in the room as thick as cement. 

"I thought you were coming in the other way," Duo said slowly. 

"We thought we'd take the back door," Jou replied. 

"Yuy." One word. Spoken by Zechs. There was no emotion in the sound. 

"Peacecraft." Heero's eyes narrowed at Zechs, or Milliardo as he was known to the public. 

"Where do you have Quatre Winner!?" Jou suddenly yelled. The noise reverberated roughly off of the stone walls of the parking building. 

Zechs's mouth turned up in a grin. "Quatre....is no longer with us.....isn't that right, Shinigami?" He was addressing Duo, of course. Jou remembered another thing from the station. Shinigami was the name of Zech's right hand man. He almost rolled his eyes. He shoulda guessed. 

Duo began to sweat. Zech's was testing him, and he knew it. Declare involvement in this kidnapping with his wife in the room? Duo just couldn't do that to his own Hilde... 

Duo cracked a false grin and nodded. "Hai....he isn't at all." He felt the betrayl wash over him as Hilde yelled Duo's name. 

"Duo! You're lying! What's going ON here!? Please.....Duo! Tell me!" 

Duo hung his head in anguish for a second, then looked back up at the two other men. 

Suddenly, one of the White Fang Gang members with an itchy trigger finger accidentally let loose a bullet, stricking the concrete beside and behind Heero's head, causing both men to duck for cover. The sudden accidental bullet seemed to spring everyone back into action, and the crossfire had begun again. 

The two men jumped from their places and began running, firing sideways as they shot around the garage. BANG! A bullet flew through the ends of Jou's long trenchcoat, and Jou fired back at the person making the shot. 

Heero flung himself sideways to miss a bullet, and hit the floor with his shoulder, tucking himself into a roll that sat him up again, and returned fire also. 

"Gyaarrr!" A bullet, Heero's or Jou's, hit a gang member in his shooting arm. Jou could hear the police yelling at Jou to get down over the gunfire, and he hit the dirt, mostly on instinct. 

CLANG!!! A hubcap had been thrown frisbee style at him, and it barely missed slicing his neck up, hitting the wall instead. 

"Jeez! You'd think they'd be a bit nicer to ya..." Jou muttered to himself. 

Bakura was ducked down behind a parked car in classic police style, with Yami on one side and Hilde on the other. Kaiba and Ryuzaki were behind another nearby. Bakura poked his head up over the hood to let loose a few shots, and then ducked again as answering fire reigned around him. 

"Hey!" Zechs yelled, pausing momentarily to sweatdrop. "That's MY car!" 

Bakura snorted and ignored him. 

Ten feet away, Seto Kaiba was growing impatient. Sure, he and Jou were rival PIs, but that didn't mean he wanted the blond dead. He jumped up and ran out from behind the car, ignoring the shouts of Yami and Bakura, and then froze dead in his tracks. 

"Stop where you are, detective." It was Zech's voice, although he was adressing not Kaiba, but Jou. Jou's eyes widened as the sound of the gunfire died around them. Jou turned around to face Zechs. He saw him about fifteen feet away, his gun trained right on his head. Jou had been caught with his gun down, and he knew that if he made any move to raise it now, he'd be dead. Heero watched with horror close by, exchanging a muted glance with Kaiba. 

"Don't move detective, or your life is forefiet, and that goes for *all* the detectives." Zechs added, watching Kaiba from the corner of his eye. The brunette was literally shaking in anger, but couldn't try anything for the sake of the five or so guns trained on him. It was the same with Heero as well. Jou swallowed a lump in his throat, but then put on a smirk. 

"At least before you kill me, can I get a smoke and a blindfold?" 

"Stop toying, detective. You know I've wanted this for a long time now....you KILLED HER YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Zech's face grew red in rage and his gun hand shook very little. "SHE'S DEAD! AND NOW!!....." he slowly calmed himself, and everyone in there was frozen at Zech's outburst. "....and now....I can get my revenge for her!" His hand steadied significantly, and all traces of Zech's outburst disappeared from his face. 

"Now you die, Detective Jounochi." 

BANG!!! 

"NOOO!!" 

"Ooof!!" 

The silence following the shot was deafening. Jou lifted his head. He looked down at the bleeding brunette man lying on him. 

"Heero! Why the heck didja take that for me!? Heero! Heero!?" Jou turned Heero over and shook him lightly. Heero's eyes opened with a groan from his lips. Jou looked down and saw where the bullet had hit Heero in his abdomen. 

"Detective Jounochi........" Heero's breath was ragged and shallow. He slowly said, "come closer...." Jou bent down and Heero spoke softly into Jou's ear. Jou's face scrunched up in pain and Heero's eyes closed slowly. He fell limp in Jou's arms, and Jou set him down slowly, standing to look Zechs in the face. 

Zechs chuckled at the bleeding man on the ground. 

"Ooh good! I DID want him out of the way anyway! Relena knows I hated him! Oh well! Next bullet's yours, detective!" Zechs raised the gun again. 

All were distracted suddenly though by a small scuffle behind the car where the police were hidden. 

"Miss Hilde! Stay here! Don't go!" Yami Motou's arm reached out to grab the running woman, but he caught only air. 

One of the henchmen of the gang raised his gun. "I'll bet she's with the police! I'll get her, boss!" 

Duo's head turned suddenly. "NO! DON'T......" 

BANG! 

The shot echoed off the walls painfully as everyone saw Hilde Maxwell stumble, her eyes wide and livid. Duo ran forward and caught her in his arms as she fell, blood coming freely from a wound by her chest. 

"Nooo....Hilde.....oh Lord, oh Lord Hilde....I'm so sorry....I'm so sorry baby......" 

"D....Duo.....you didn't mean for any.....of this .....did you?" Her shaky voice floated up to Duo's ears. 

"Oh God Hilde...nothing like this at all.....please believe me...." Duo's eyes had started leaking tears and he began to sob slowly. "Stay with me Hilde.....don't go anywhere....." His head snapped up suddenly. 

"YOU! You shot my WIFE, you BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU!?!?!?!" Duo freed a hand and raised his gun, preparing to shoot the henchman. Even Zechs had lowered his own gun in the alarm of the situation. 

"Please Duo.....don't....." 

Duo's eyes widened at the voice of his waning wife. He lowered his gun and tilted his head down to her. He couldn't seem to find his voice well. Only a small sob escaped his throat. His vision was turning redder and redder, and the only thought he had was revenge. 

"Shinigami...." Zechs' eyes had widened as well. He knew the pain of a lost love. He took a step at his partner. 

"DON'T come closer! This is YOUR fault, Zechs!" And with that, the gun was whirled onto him. Tears were flowing heavily down Duo's face now. "If you hadn't decided to take over other corporations, THIS wouldn't be happening now!!!" 

Zechs stopped with a start. Jou, the Domino Police, Seto Kaiba, and the gang members bore audience to this grim scene. 

"What are you talking about, Shinigami?" 

"It's YOU! You had to have EVERYTHING in your palm! But at what price, Zechs!? What PRICE! Because of all this, NOIN IS DEAD!" The words hit Zechs like a blow to the head. 

"Shini...." But Zechs wasn't allowed to finish. 

"And what about your sister! You just killed the man she LOVES! And now my WIFE IS DYING HERE IN MY LAP!!! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED MILLIARDO PEACECRAFT!?" 

The words hit Zechs like a ton of bricks. "I.....I.....damnit Shinigami......" He froze, then raised his gun at Jou again. "I still need my revenge!" 

Jou was ready though. His gun was up as swiftly, and once again, they were staring down each other's barrels. 

"She shouldn't have brought you into this, you know, Detective." 

"What are ya talkin' about, Zechs?" Then it hit him. Dorothy Winner. 

"That damn woman....thought she could worm her way into that void left by Lucrezia.....she's nothing more than a usable hussy! Nothing more than a pawn to get to her husband! She served her purpose, then brought YOU into this! Although I am glad for the chance to kill you, she still shouldn't have thought to do it!" 

So she WAS in on it. Didn't surprise Jou really. "Why would she want to hire a detective for the kidnapping case she was helping in? Sure she'd want to keep face and all....." 

"Because, she didn't think you could pull it off. You'd had such a crappy time lately, all she thought you were capable of were cheating wife scandals and badly carried out robberies." 

Jou's eyebrow twitched. Really now? "Actually, this was one of my easier cases. You guys didn't cover your tracks well. Sure, this part REALLY sucks, but all in all, peace of cake." 

"I have to admit, we were in a bit of a hurry. But even you can't fathom where we have Winner right now. That whore Dorothy practically handed him to us.....clinging to me like some pathetic animal.....saying how we'd be together once he was out of the way, and make us both richer than possible....well, she only had it half right. I'D be rich.....not her.....little did that woman know that I will be staging a little...."accident" that will leave me the sole keeper of all that money....." 

Jou could hear Duo's quiet sobs in the background, begging his wife to hang on a little longer. He had an expensive looking handkerchief from his coat pocket pressed firmly against her wound, and he was talking to her in quiet tones. 

He saw the henchman who shot Hilde sitting on the ground, looking shocked and horrified at his mistake, and then he looked over at the still form of Heero, and the faces of the police. Seto Kaiba was scrutinizing Jou quietly. 

"Turn back here and face your killer, Jounochi!" Jou's head whipped back around to Zechs "It's cowardly to kill someone when they aren't looking, you know." 

Jou's eyebrow raised, and a murmur went through the crowds gathered there. Jou said nothing as someone approached. 

"I guess that makes me a coward then, right Zechs darling?" Dorothy Winner. She had a gun pointed at Zechs and the anger on her face was unmatched. "A whore, huh? An "accident," is it? Just a pawn!? I'll show YOU!" 

BANG! 

Zechs crumped to the ground quietly, not moving. A hole was in the middle of his back. Jou's eyes ran up to Dorothy. 

"You SHOT HIM!" 

"Yes. I did. Now I'll be in charge of everything, and all of the money that he stood to gain. And you....will be dead." 

"You'll have to kill all of us first." Seto took a step forward, the officers coming out from their various hiding places. They stared at Dorothy and the gang members harshly. The members of the gang seemed to have lost their nerve when they saw their leader go down, and they backed away slowly. Then they turned tail and ran. Bakura reached for his radio. 

"The gang members are leaving, looks like they're heading for the east parking lot exit. Get reinforcements and get there fast. And Weevil....don't forget the tear gas. You know I love seeing them gag. Over and out." Yami rolled his eyes, then walked out from behind the car. 

He stood next to Duo and looked down at him. "Is she......" 

"Not.....yet. I don't know how much longer........" Duo had remained very quiet through everything else, hardly blinking an eye when his long time partner in crime went down. 

"You know, whether or not she makes it.....we still have to take you in." 

Duo nodded slowly. "I......understand. I never meant for any of this to happen.....Relena will be crushed....." 

"Will she?" Everyone turned and looked over at the source of the monoone voice. Heero Yuy sat up, holding his underarm. 

"WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!!!!" Bakura's shocked face showed the emotions of everyone, except Jou. 

"No. Told Jou to act like I died. Told him I was playing possum." 

"Then I'll REALLY put you down!" Dorothy raised her gun again, this time, at Heero. "I'll have my money, even if it means killing all of you to do it!!! Dorothy's finger began to squeeze the trigger. 

Jou acted swiftly. Reaching down for the hubcap tossed at him earlier, he got it and tossed it at Dorothy's gun arm. His aim was right on, and Dorothy's hand dropped the gun, and she clutched the bleeding hand to her tightly. He then raised his own gun at the woman and walked up to her. 

"I don't think you'll even be gettin' the money for that bail you'll be needin' soon. You'd better go in all quiet like, Mrs. Winner." 

~*~ 

Two hours later, the Jou sat down quietly in Ryou's hospital room and looked at him. 

"Kid, you look like a coyote ate you and crapped you offa cliff." 

Ryou chuckled, despite his sore stomach. "Thanks Jou-san. How is everyone?" 

"Well, Hilde's in pretty bad condition, and Duo made a deal with the police. He'll stay with her in the hospital until her condition was....resolved, and then he'd go into the station in his cuffs. Dorothy got taken in, and boy does that dame got a temper! She yelled and screamed the whole way! Zechs, well kid, forget what ya heard, but he's still alive. The bullet hit him right by the spinal cord and broke some of his spine bones. Doctor's say he'll be in a tough situation, but they can save him. But he'll be paralyzed for life. Heero got shot in the underarm, but he'll be fine. He sure lost alot of blood playin' possum though....he's a little weak, but that'll be fixed with a bit of time." 

"What about Relena?" 

"Zech's sister? She was pretty shaken up once the cops got done talkin' to her, but she looked like she'd pull through. That broad's pretty tough. Must come from havin' that Milliardo as her brother. She'll take over the Peacecraft business. Heard she's got a real head for politics, so I'm sure she'll be fine." 

"That's great. Real sad to hear about Hilde though. She seems like a nice woman....sad she got caught up in the fire like that. What about the other gang members?" 

"Officer Haga did as he was told and got the tear gas.....betcha you can picture how that turned out. All of them coughin' and wheezin'.....they gave up pretty quick." Jou chuckled lightly and looked down at Ryou. "Hey kid, the doc said you could come back with us after another couple of days. They figure you'd be well enough to move you to our place. You'd have to stay in bed for a couple of weeks though." 

"I understand. And what about Mr. Winner?" 

"Him? Well, turns out that when you told the cops that you saw that Peacecraft limo go by, he repeated to another cop in front of the gang boys as they were roundin' them up, and one of the guys accidentally let somethin' slip. He said, 'the warf,' then shut it real quick. The cops are on their way there now. They should have Mr. Winner soon." 

"That's great. I really hope he's not hurt or anything......that really wouldn't be good for Winner Corp.....there isn't anyone else who can take it over, is there?" 

"I'm sure there is, kid, I hear Mr. Winner's got himself a plethora of sisters hangin' around, but I'm sure that won't be the case when he gets found. Them gang men were usin' him as a bargaining chip mainly." 

Ryou sighed and leaned back against his pillows a little more. "Is this what it was like, Jou? In your busy days? All this danger and risk?" He turned his head on his pillow. 

".....Well kid. This is the most action I've had in awhile....I've dealt with these guys before....." 

"Shizuka told me." 

"She did? Well, that saves me some time then. Hmmm....well, kid. In the busy days, it was pretty risky. Usually found someone with a gun at every case. Got shot in the leg once, and you can see this new hole in my coat here...." He lifted the ends of his jacket off of the chair he was in and showed Ryou the small hole where the bullet had gone through. There was a burn ring around it too. 

"............" Ryou looked at the hole quietly. 

"You think the job's too risky kid?" Ryou nodded. "Too much danger involved, huh?" Ryou nodded again. "Runnin' the risk of gettin' killed....." Once again, a nod from Ryou. "Thinkin' of quittin', kid? Because...I wouldn't blame ya if you did...." Ryou paused, then shook his head. 

"I'm in this with you, Jounochi-sama. I'm not quitting because I got a cap popped in me. This comes with the job. And....who knows....." Ryou got a small twinkle in his eye. "I might become even greater than Jou himself...." 

"Heeeeeyyy kid! Let's not get to presumin' things now! I'd give ya a noogie right now if you weren't in a hospital bed!" 

Ryou laughed lightly, and Shizuka opened the door. "Nii-san! Someone's here to see you....." 

Seto Kaiba stepped into view. "Just hear me now, Detective. You got lucky today. I still don't think you have what it takes, puppy. Get out of this business before you hurt yourself, like you almost did today. You nearly got Heero Yuy and your new partner killed, and your luck only got us out of there with our lives." 

"HEY! Heero said he was fine, and he TOLD me to do that! And I don't see how LUCK had to do with us gettin' out of there!" 

"Lucky that Zechs had the pride to make you face him. If that didn't buy us time, you could have gotten killed. Just stay away from these things, Detective. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to speak to my client. He's pretty moody, for a limo driver..." With that, Seto Kaiba walked off, his younger brother/assistant trotting along behind him. 

"Geez, that Kaiba always manages to get under my skin...." Jou bristled a bit. 

"Now calm down Jou....he's just trying to get to you!" Shizuka put a hand on Jou's shoulder, and he calmed a bit. 

"Yeah, well he's still and arrogant jerk if I ever saw one....." 

Ryou blinked a couple of times. "What was that about?" 

Shizuka looked over at Ryou. "Well, Seto Kaiba and my brother are rivals in the business. I wouldn't pay any attention to them when they fight anyways....." 

Jou just sat there and grumbled for a moment about how Seto Kaiba could just take a red hot rod and just shove it up his..... 

"Jou! There's someone ELSE here to see you!" Shizuka was up by the door again, and looking into the hallway. 

"Well, let 'em in, Shizuka-chan. Don't let 'em stay out there. As long as it's not that Seto Kaiba again....." 

Jou turned around to see Heero Yuy be pushed into the room in a wheelchair by a pretty nurse. He looked a little disgruntled, but otherwise fine. 

"Hey Heero! .....hey....I thought you got shot in your armpit or something like that! Why are ya in a wheelchair?" 

Heero glared up at his nurse, and she looked down at him and smiled. "Anne said she couldn't help but baby me. Anne is Quatre Winner's sister. One of his twenty nine sisters." 

"That's right Hee-chan! I just have to care for you and make sure my baby brother's bodyguard doesn't overstrain himself!" She smiled down at him, and Heero grimaced. 

"Woah! Wait a second! Quatre's got TWENTY NINE sisters!?!?" 

Anne Winner smiled at Jou. "Hai Detective. Quatre's the youngest out of all of us!" Suddenly, Anne's beeper went off. "....hmm.....Oh my goodness! The police have found Quatre!!! They're bringing him here immediately!" 

Jou stood. "So he's safe?" 

Anne nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. "Little brother is alright....I'm so happy...." Heero looked up at her from his wheelchair, and stood up, walking to Jou. 

"Let's go out to meet him with Anne." 

Jou nodded and looked over at Shizuka. "Hey imouto-chan, will ya be alright with Ryou for awhile?" 

It was Shizuka's turn to nod as the boys walked out with a teary Anne. Then she turned back to Ryou, a curious expression on her face. "So how come you're staying? Nii-san's had partners before, and usually they bail at the first sign of real danger. That's why he prefers working alone." 

"......." 

"Oh come on, out with it! Why do you want to stay?" 

Ryou turned his face away from her, scared that she'd see him blush. "....No reason. And I really can't go back to my old job." 

"At the theatre? Why not?" 

"Ah... Differences of oppinion. Besides," Ryou turned back to her and winked. "Who'd want to leave a pretty girl like you?" 

This time it was Shizuka's turn to blush. "Jeez... Maybe you're hanging around my brother too much already..." But she was grinning, and they shared a laugh (or a chuckle, on the part of Ryou, since laughing hurt). 

~*~ 

A few moments later, Jou and Heero were standing in front of a wheelchair with Quatre Rebaba Winner in it, looking pale, limp, and slightly malnourished, but otherwise alright. He lifted his head and looked at the men. 

"You know.....I knew.....the whole time....Dorothy was doing this.....I just never knew...when. Or how. I didn't want to worry anyone...so I never told. I hope you'll forgive me, Heero-san.....if I had just said something, all this wouldn't have happened...." His eyes flickered up to Heero's bandaged shoulder. 

Heero knelt by his employer and friend. "Quatre, everything's okay now. Without Detective Jounochi's help, we couldn't have gotten you back or kept your company intact." 

"But....Relena-san's brother....and Trowa....I never thought.....and Hilde Maxwell....we don't even know if she'll live yet!.....and it's all my fault!" His eyes took on a small flame and a tear came to his eyes. Anne dropped by her brother. 

"Quatre! Don't say such things! It couldn't be helped! But you're fine now....and nobody's dead!" 

"But I heard about Relena's brother and Hilde! And Heero! And your partner! They all could have been killed today! Even you, Detective-san!" Quatre looked at Jou now, and Jou gazed back. 

"Your sister's right now, Winner. It couldn't be helped. Believe me, it could have been alot worse than it was today." 

"I have to thank you, Detective-san....." Suddenly, Quatre's eyes dropped again. "Dorothy.....I didn't want to believe...the whole time....I thought maybe the rumor was fake.....but....I was wrong. My wife....." His eyes welled up with tears, and a sob caught in his throat. Jou figured it was time for him to leave Quatre and his friends alone for awhile, so he turned his back to leave. 

"Detective-san....." 

"Yeah?" His back was still to Quatre. 

"What would you like as payment?" 

"I couldn't ask for anythin' of ya, Winner. You've had enough for today." With that, he walked off. 

Two days later 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Welcome home Ryou!!!" Shizuka threw some confetti into the air as Ryou was wheeled into the house by Jounochi. Ryou grinned at the happy Shizuka as Jou set Ryou close to a coffe table where a cake was placed. 

"Just for you, Ryou!" Shizuka got a knife and cut into the cake, handing him a piece. 

"Hey, he's gotta share with us, ya know!" Jou grinned down and snagged a generous piece of cake for himself. "Heh....." 

The doorbell chose that moment to ring. Jou sighed and stood. "I'll get it....you make Ryou nice and comfy, 'kay Shizuka?" He stood and went to the door, opening it. There he found Heero Yuy standing there, his arm in a sling. 

"Hi, Detective." 

"Hey there, Yuy." 

"I...just came by to tell you that I'm going to America. The Federal Bureau of Investigations offered me a very nice position there, and I really don't want to turn it down...." 

Jou's eyes widened. "Hey! That's great, Heero! ....Ehh...what about Relena?" 

Heero's usually calm and stony face relaxed into a small smile. "She's coming with me." 

"But doesn't she have a company to run now?" 

"Well, since Zech's is going to prison once he's out of the hospital, yeah. She is. But she'd also been trying to get her brother to relocate the company to somewhere new, since business was too rough here, with Winner Corp. and Kaiba Corp. here. Obviously, he never listened to her since he wanted to take over Winner Corp., but now she can move the company herself. It'll take a little while, but once it's established, she'll join me." 

"....Y'know, I think that's the most you've said at one time talkin' to me...." 

Heero gave a small smile again. "Don't get used to it....oh, and I heard Hilde's got a good chance of pulling through now." 

"That's great! It's too bad that Shinigami's goin' to jail now, even though I'm pretty sure he's reformed his ways...." 

"You can't say he doesn't deserve it...." 

"That's true...." 

"Hey, listen, I really gotta run. I leave in two days, and I still have a lot of things to tie up here." Heero stuck out his good arm for a handshake. "Let's meet again someday, Detective." 

"Sure thing, Heero." Jou took the hand and shook it. 

"See ya, Jounochi." With that, Heero turned and walked away. Jou gave a small smile and shut the door. 

_Well, this case turned out okay after all. Hilde's gonna be alright, the bad guys are in jail, and Ryou's on the mend. Things couldn't be better......well....maybe they could.....hmm....._

()()()()() 

Brood: And that's the end of THAT chapter! Woooo! 

Zutsokaki: Good lord, leave it up to Brood to write long chapters AND take forever! 

WSJ: *crosses eyes in annoyance* I know!! It's been, what, a month? Yeash... 

Zutsokaki: >.> Well you're really one to talk, but you're right... 

Brood: HEY!.....ppffft....shaddap.... 

^^v God bless minna-san! 


	6. Case 2: Part 1: Red Headed Murder

WSJ: Bleh... Oh sure, leave the opening of the new case to me... *mock-glares* I'm not good at this sort of thing!!! 

Brood: You seem to be doing fine so far... 

Zutsokaki: Easy for you to say! 

Brood: ZUTSO! 

Zutsokaki: ^o^v 

Continuity alert: As with Gundam W these last few chapters, this is MAJOR AU. Thus the reason that the Generals are still alive. The Senshi are also not the Senshi, nor are they magical girls in any way. And they're good friends with the Generals. Very good friends, in some cases. ^^v (WSJ: Kunzite/Venus forever!!!) 

()()()()() 

The name's the same as last time folks....I'm Detective Jounochi Katsuya. It's been ten days since them White Fang Gang members went to the slammer, and I've been gettin' calls left and right for my services. In this time, I've solved two crappy cases that don't even deserve a DIShonorable Mention here. Dang, I swear there's no trust in couples these days. But then again, any business that doesn't go to Seto Kaiba is good business, as I always say. 

Anyway, I've been takin' it easy, and so has Ryou. That kid can recover pretty well. He's been at the mercy of my little sister's "care," and I'm surprised he hasn't keeled over from the over attention. 

Just awhile ago though, my takin' it easy was interrupted by a knock at my door. I put on my best grin and put away the Cowboy Bebop manga I'd been reading under my gun in my drawer. I was really hopin' for one of the dames. No such luck for this lady's man. It was a guy with some really long reddish brown hair and violet blue eyes. He had this pretty snazzy diamond stud in his left ear. He obviously had nice digs, that I could tell just by the way he was dressed. His black pants looked real expensive, maybe made just for him, and black leather boots with one of those really fancy angora red sweaters. He looked really upset for a rich mug though. 

I told him to take a seat, and he just sorta stared at his feet for awhile, sniffling. This guy must be some kind of upset. Then suddenly, he surprised me by boltin' his head up at me and burst out, 

"Oh please Detective Jounochi! There's been a murder!" 

~*~ 

There was a knock, really more of a discreet pounding, on the front door, causing Ryou to look up from his book. He glanced around, almost furtively, and started to sit up. Out of no where Shizuka appeared, standing over him like a hawk. "Ryou Jeskan Hiroki, don't tell me you were about to get up to get the door!?" 

Ryou chuckled and lay back against the couch. "No Okaa-san." he said cheerily. 

Shizuka made a face at him, winked, and then went to get the door. 

Ryou had no idea how she'd learned that his middle name was Jeskan, but every time he'd tried to get up or move or _breathe_ this last week she'd come down on him like a harpie and started yelling at him not to strain himself. She'd been rather chagrined when he'd pointed out that he had to get to the bathroom somehow. 

Chuckling again, Ryou shook his head and picked up his book. He'd only gotten through a paragraph, however, when Shizuka came back in, grinning. "Visitors for you Ryou-kun." 

"Hiya!" Gwen popped up from behind Shizuka, Hiro and Amoura behind her. Gwen and Amoura were both carrying large boquets of flowers, and Shizuka headed for the kitchen to find some vases to put them in. 

"Konnichiwa!" Ryou said, brightening up considerably and setting his book aside. "What are you three doing here?" 

"We came to visit the invalid, of course." Hiro said, poking him in the arm. "Nice digs... This where you staying?" Ryou nodded, and Hiro's grin widened. "Who's the hot chic who opened the door?" 

Gwen glared and whacked her husband, and Ryou laughed, turning it into a coughing fit halfway because laughing hurt his stitches. "That's Shizuka, Jounochi-sama's little sister. She's really nice, and has been taking care of me while I'm stuck in bed." 

Shizuka came back into the room in time to hear Ryou's comment, and grinned. "Yes, just call me Little Nurse. I swear, if it wasn't for me Ryou'd be up with Jou in the office already, attempting to chase down criminals in his condition. I'm Shizuka." she introduced herself more formally, bowing to the three visitors. 

"I'm Hiro, and this is my wife, Gwen." Hiro said, bowing back. Gwen made to stick out her hand for a hand shake, and then remembered and bowed. 

"Sorry, I'm used to shaking hands... Jeez, seven years and counting in Japan and still running by American traditions..." Gwen grinned, and the others chuckled. 

"I'm Amoura," said Amoura. "Vhat are you reading R'ou?" The French maiden pronounced his name "reh-hou". 

"A book Jou-sama loaned me." Ryou said, handing it to her for inspection. 

Gwen looked over her friend's shoulder, scratching her head. "'The Age of Chivalry and Legends of Charlemagne'. Well, whatever floats your boat Ryou." 

Amoura descretely leaned towards Shizuka. "Did you uze ze middle name of R'ou's?" 

Shizuka grinned. "Thanks for telling me, I think I've got him confused on where I learned it... Wait a second, how'd _you_ learn it?" 

Amoura sweatdropped slightly. "Ummmm..." 

All five jumped when the door at the top of the stairs banged open. "Shizuka!" Jounochi bellowed. "Is Ryou well enough to help me solve a murder?" 

"Hell no!" Shizuka yelled back, dispite Ryou's protests. "Maybe next week!" 

"Shimatta." There was the sound of the door slamming shut once more, and Gwen, Hiro, and Amoura sweatdropped. 

"I take it that was Detective Jounochi?" Hiro asked, receiving nods from Shizuka and Ryou. He chuckled. "Ah well. We'd better go. Anzu doesn't know we're here." 

Ryou snorted. "Oh Anzu... Gah, does she _still_ hate me?" 

The three actors exchanged glances. "Yup." Well, two "yups" and a "oui." 

Amoura smiled. "But no matter R'ou. You 'ave a good job 'ere. Just do not get jjot anymore, oui?" 

"Oui." Ryou agreed, chuckling. "I'll try my hardest Amoura-chan." 

The three actors took their leave, and Shizuka looked at Ryou curiously. "So who's Anzu?" 

Ryou looked embarrassed. "Another actor on our - their - troupe. We had a misunderstanding a few years ago, which is why I left." 

"Really? What kind of misunderstanding?" 

"I'd... rather not talk about it Shizuka-chan..." Ryou mumbled, picking up his book again. Shizuka looked at him in amusement for a moment, and then shrugged and went into the kitchen to see about supper. 

~*~ 

"So what sort of murder are we talking about here?" Jou asked his new client, leaning back in his chair. "The jealous boyfriend/girlfriend type? The revenge type? Just all-out rage that led to killing?" 

The man, who named himself as Ogino Nephrite, looked Jounochi in the eye. "That's the problem Jounochi-san, I don't know. I called my girlfriend from work, and got no answer. That's unusual, since she works at home. I dropped by later to see her and let myself in, since I have my own key, and found her on the livingroom floor." He looked down, as if he was afraid Jou would see him cry. "She was dead, and there was blood all over the place..." 

Jou frowned, pausing in his note-taking. "How?" 

"What?" 

"How was she dead?" 

Nephrite looked taken aback. "Excuse me?" 

Jou sighed. "Shot? Slit wrists? Drug overdose?" 

"Oh," Nephrite looked down again. "Knifing. It was still stuck in her when I got there. Look, I loved Naru-chan with all my heart! I'm willing to pay anything! Just find the kissima who killed her so I can give him a peice of my mind!" 

Jou raised an eyebrow. "I'll do my best. Anyone who might have done this?" 

Nephrite shook his head. "Not that I can think of, no. But Naru's best friend, Usagi, might know something." Jou handed him a paper, and Nephrite scribbled down Chiba Usagi's full name and address for the detective. Jou glanced at it, nodded, and then put it in his pocket. "You reported all this to the Domino Police?" 

"Of course." 

"Good." Jou nodded again, standing up to usher Nephrite to the door. "Looks like I get to pay a visit to Liutenant Bakura, crime scene investigator..." 

~*~ 

"What've you got?" Jou asked as soon as he strode into the Domino Police Station. Yuugi was behind the desk, eating donuts with his feet on the desk and a manga propped up on his knees. Yami was over near one wall, interrogating a witness to some sort of robbery. Bakura was the only one who paid attention to Jou, but he was the one Jou needed to see. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bakura growled as he walked through a door that led toward the offices, a stack of papers under one arm. 

"Like hell you don't." Jou growled, following after him. "An innocent girl's been knifed to death, and her grieving boyfriend came to me to find out who killed her. You _always_ investigate crime scenes, and you _know_ I need that report!" 

"What report?" Bakura asked innocently. "And how do you know Ms. Osaka's boyfriend didn't kill her himself?" 

"That's why I need the report." Jou said, exhasperated. "The report under your arm!" he added as Bakura opened his mouth to say something. 

The policemen shot him a hard look as he turned a corner in the hallway and came to a stop in front of his office. "As a matter of fact, I already promised to show this report to someone else. I suppose you could sit in if Chiba-san says he doesn't mind." Bakura opened the door to his office and gestured for Jounochi to proceed him in. 

Sitting in a chair in front of Bakura's desk, attempting to read the paperwork sitting on it while it was upside-down, was a tall, muscular man with a short crop of blue-black hair and midnight blue eyes. He was wearing a suit, but it was of the informal style that Jou himself wore. When Jou stepped in, Bakura behind him, he stood and bowed. "Chiba Mamoru, Juuban Police." 

"Jounochi Katsuya, Private Eye," Jou said, bowing back. 

"And I'm Tamiya Bakura, Domino Police," Bakura said impatiently, setting the stack of papers down on his desk and waving impatiently for them to take their seats. Bakura smiled politely at Jou and turned to Mamoru. "Jou-san is the PI that Nephrite hired to help us out. And he's good. He's the one that cracked the Winner scheme last week." Mamoru looked surprised, and then nodded in recognition of Jou's skills. Now Bakura was looking at Jou. "Chiba-san is the one your client, Nephrite, called to the scene of the crime first, even though it was committed here in Domino." 

Jou blinked. "Why? Why call in the Juuban Police if we're right here?" 

"Because I'm a good friend of Naru-chan and Nephrite's." Mamoru said. 

"Wait a sec," Jou snapped his fingers and pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket. "Are you related to anyone by the name of Chiba Usagi?" 

Mamoru blinked. "My wife and/or daughter, depending on which you want. Why?" 

"Probably wife." Jou said. "Nephrite said she was a good friend of Naru's?" 

"Yes," Mamoru said, nodding. "You'll want to talk to her then?" 

"Definately." Jou affirmed. "And anyone else who may know something about the murder, or why anyone would want to hurt Naru, or anything else that may be helpful." 

Mamoru pursed his lips, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well obviously there's Nephrite, and Zoicite-kun might know something too. And you should probably talk to all the girls, except maybe Minako-chan, since she didn't know Naru-chan very well." 

Jou looked up from scribbling away in his notebook. "Full names and addresses, if you've got them, please?" 

"Hawachi Zoicite, 336 High Street, Domino City. The rest of the addresses you'd have to get from my wife, but the names are Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei, Kino Makoto, and I guess you might as well put down Aino Minako too." 

Jou nodded and flipped to a clean page in his notebook, turning expectantly to Bakura. "So what've you got on the scene?" Bakura handed Jou a sheif of photographs as Mamoru began to narrate. 

"I got there approx. 7:24PM to find Nephrite in a fit of hysterics outside the door to Osaka Naru's appartment. I had one other man, my partner, Inimo Jadite, with me. We went inside to find Naru like this." He pointed to the first picture, in which a slim red-head was spralled out on her back, her sea green eyes wide and glassy and the handle of a knife sticking out of her stomach. "Jadite did an improptu autopsy and determined that she had, indeed, died of knife wounds and loss of blood" here Mamoru rolled his eyes "At approx. 6:50PM. We received the call from Nephrite at 7:11PM." 

Jou nodded. "The knife?" 

"Right here." Bakura pulled a plastic bag from a drawer in his desk and handed it to Jou for inspection. It was about seven inches in length, with an elaborate carved desighn on the wooden helt. Jou nodded. "Fingerprints?" 

"Mine, since I handled it, and Nephrite's, since it's his knife." Mamoru said, sighing. "He'd givin it to Naru as a Christmas present, and she kept it mounted over the fire place, and apparently the killer pulled it off the wall and stabbed her. But he must have been wearing gloves, because there's no other fingerprints on it. Naru's weren't even on it, because after Nephrite mounted it for her she apparently never touched it except to dust it occasionally." 

Jou narrowed his eyes. "Unless Nephrite killed her." 

Mamoru blinked. "I've known him for a long time, and he really loves Naru. I don't think he'd kill her over anything. And besides, if he killed her, why would he then turn around and hire you to find her killer?" 

Jou shrugged, trying his best to look humble. He couldn't quite pull it off though, and smirked a little. "Oh, well, ya' see, in the Winner case his wife came to me for help, but was actually one of the conspirators. If ya' don't believe me, you can always go ask her. She's in the county jail right now." 

"I believe you." Mamoru said, shaking his head slowly. "But I still don't think Nephrite would do something like that." He sighed and looked at Bakura. "Anything else Liutenant?" Bakura shook his head, and Mamoru stood up. "Okay detective, ready to go meet my wife?" 

()()()()() 

Brood: Enjoy, minna-san? 

Zutsokaki: Crap. It was crap. 

Brood: NO IT WASN'T!! *kicks him firmly in the rear* 

WSJ: *gags* Yes it was. Boring chapter! ;__; Sorry... Hopefully Brood can do better with the next one... *smiles sweetly at her oneesan* 

God bless minna-san! 


	7. Case2: Part 2: The Tears of a Meatball ...

Brood: Sorry for the delay, July's been one heck of a month, and so has August, so far!  
  
Zutsokaki: For who? You left me alone with the chibis for a whole week!   
  
Brood: *clinging to Chibi Joey* Yeah yeah, stop your bickering....  
  
WSJ: ^o^ I for one am thankful for you "help", such as it was, Zutso. I got an entire, RELAXING week on the lake with no muses to hound me.  
  
Zutsokaki: *pouts* Oh yeah? You didn't see how many times Harmony threatened me with that scythe o' hers...  
  
WSJ: She did? Good for her! ^~  
  
Zutsokaki: *mutters about stupid onnas and how they shouldn't own their own computers*  
  
~*~  
  
Jou called home on his cell phone to Shizuka, so she'd know where he was heading.  
  
"JUUBAN!? Why are you going to Juuban, nii-san!? The girl was killed in Domino!!"  
  
"Yeah yeah, I know, but I gotta go where the leads take me. Talk to ya later....... and make sure the kid stays in bed," he added as a quick afterthought.   
  
He could almost hear the wicked grin appearing on his sister's face. "You know I will, nii-san......"  
  
Ryou must have guessed what the conversation was about, because he could hear Ryou yell in the background, "Any more of her care, and I'll check MYSELF into the hospital again!"   
  
Jounouchi smiled as he heard Ryou laugh and Shizuka let out a mocking, "Hey!" to Ryou's statement. Yeah, they'd get along just fine without him around.  
  
Jou put down the phone and leaned back in the passenger seat of Chiba Mamoru's car.  
  
  
  
"Ryou? Did you mean Ryou Hiroki, your partner that was wounded in the Winner scandal?" Jou looked up at Mamoru, and he nodded.  
  
"Yeah, that'd be him. He's at home restin' right now. He should be okay to start workin' again next week."  
  
"That's good....has he had much training?" Mamoru went up an exit ramp and twiddled the brakes a bit, slowing down enough to take the curving ramp safely.  
  
"Not much. The Winner case was the first real field work case we got after I got him. Not exactly the most friendly case to start a rookie off on, eh?" Jou cracked a smile at the older officer, and Mamoru gave him a small smile back.  
  
"Nope, I'd sure agree with you there....ooh look, we're here...." Mamoru nodded towards where the city of Juuban was appearing in the distance. "We'll be seeing my wife in about five minutes, Jounochi-san."  
  
Jou nodded and looked forward. Not another word was said until they pulled up in front of the Chiba residence, and a very distraught blonde woman came bounding outside.  
  
"MAMO-CHAN! I heard! I got the call from Nephrite earlier today! Why didn't you tell me!!" Jou correctly guessed that this gorgeous blonde was Mrs. Chiba Usagi. She burst out into tears as she fell onto Mamoru's chest. "How could this happen!!! Not her.....Oh Lord, why her!? She was my best...*hiccup*...FRIEND MAMORU!!"  
  
Mamoru clung to his wife while trying to comfort her. "Usako-chan...it'll be alright...we'll find out who did this to her..."  
  
He held her as she sobbed for a moment, Jou looking away politely until they were ready to address him.  
  
  
  
He didn't have to wait long, since Mamoru's wife hiccuped again and looked up with bleary eyes. "We, Mamoru?....Oh! You brought another officer!"   
  
Mamoru looked down at her lightly. "A detective, Usagi....he's going to try and help us out. He's from Domino City."  
  
".....Please, Detective-sama, find out who killed my best friend....please?"  
  
Jou looked at the woman and smiled. He noticed that she had her hair done up in two pigtails, and at the top of each was a ball shaped mound of hair. Sort of like...spaghetti and meatballs, Jou thought with a small inward smile.   
  
"Mrs. Chiba, I'm Jounochi Katsuya, Private Eye. I sure will try to find out who killed her. If you have a moment, I'm gonna need to ask you a few things about Miss Naru."  
  
She nodded lightly and pulled away from her husband with an affectionate glance. She wiped a few tears from her cheeks and eyes and motioned towards the door. "Let's go inside please...."   
  
The three people walked inside, and Usagi showed them to the living room. "Do you need anything to drink, Jounochi-sama?"  
  
Jou shook his head no and sat down. "I'm fine, thank you."  
  
Usagi nodded and got a pot of hot tea and a large plate of small cakes and put them on the table. She poured two cups and placed one in front of Mamoru, and the other in front of herself.  
  
"Mrs. Chiba..."  
  
"Usagi, please, Detective-sama." She wiped another tear threatening to fall from her face.  
  
"..........Usagi, then.....when was the last time you had contact with Miss Osaka?"  
  
"Umm...about two days ago. She called me from Nephrite's home and we just talked, really. She wanted to come up to Juuban tomorrow to see me and Chibi-Usa and we were going to spend the day together....." Usagi had to stop to get a tissue from the table and blew her nose rather loudly. "In fact, I have a picture of the three of us here....from an amusement park we went to about three months ago...."   
  
She opened up her purse and fished out her wallet, opening it up to the middle of a whole slew of pictures stuffed in there. The picture she held out to Jou was of Usagi and a very alive and happy looking Naru, her red hair tied into two short pigtails just behind her ears. On Usagi's lap was a girl who looked about four or five years old, with cotton-candy pink hair and bright red eyes. He took that to be Usagi and Mamoru's daughter, Chibi-Usa, as her mother called her.  
  
He cast a look up at the girl's parents, wondering where in their gene pool was pink hair and red eyes. He shrugged it off and continued his questioning, handing the photograph back to Usagi.  
  
"Were there any suggestions that there was anythin' wrong? Like maybe someone was after her? Worried at all about anythin'?" Jou leaned back in the comfortable chair, readying his pen over his notepad.  
  
Usagi sniffled lightly and replied putting away her wallet, "No, she had no enemies that I would know of. We tell each other everything....Why, I called her the morning after......" She glanced over at Mamoru, suddenly blushing. Mamoru's eyes widened.  
  
"You did WHAT!?"  
  
Jou sweatdropped once again and pretended to ignore the outburst. Mamoru regained his composure after a moment, obviously used to any kind of ditzy behavior on his wife's part. Usagi, after a moment of a half smile, turned back to Jou.  
  
"Was there anything else?"  
  
"Y-yes, Mrs. Usagi....are you sure that she didn't make any enemies? Like anyone she'd have an arguement with or anythin' like that?" He leaned forward again.  
  
Usagi's eyes lit up with a form of sudden thought. Jou scooted to the edge of his seat as Usagi took a breath and began to speak again.  
  
"Now that you mention it.....there was one person...." Her blonde spaghetti and meatballs bobbed softly as she gave a small nod. "His name is Umino. He was Naru's boyfriend before Nephrite. When Naru told Umino that it was over between them about a year and a half ago, they got into this huge arguement. I never thought Umino was capable of something like yelling at Naru for anything. He was always a little....well....a LOT dorky, but he was a good guy." She caught Jou's suggestive glance at her story, and she started.  
  
"Detective-sama, Umino would NEVER EVER do a thing like that to Naru! He was always so good to her! And they haven't talked in at least six months either!"  
  
"Just in case, Mrs. Usagi, tell me whatcha can about this Umino guy. Like, what about the last time that they talked?"  
  
Usagi put her surprise away and thought. "Well, Umino was visiting Domino on business. He ran into Naru at....a gas station, I think she told me. She said that he simply asked her how she was doing lately and how Nephrite was. She said that he was the picture of perfect calm and friendliness. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was happy to hear that it seemed like Umino was over her and the arguement...."  
  
Mamoru was very interested in this by now also. He leaned forward towards his wife and touched her knee, causing her to jump. She looked up at her husband and smiled at him.  
  
"And what does this Umino do for a livin'? You said he visited Domino on business."  
  
Usagi thought for a moment, obviously confused. "Well....he works in Kyoto as some kind of scientist....works with chemicals and plants and animals and stuff...lots of tubes..."  
  
This time, both Mamoru and Jou sweatdropped. Mamoru squeezed his wife's knee and said, "I think that's a biochemist, Usako-chan...."  
  
Her face brightened and she nodded quickly. "Yeah! That sounds about right! Umino is a biochemistry guy!"  
  
Jou was beginning to feel that his sweatdrop was permanent.  
  
"Mrs. Chiba, I have the names and phone numbers of your four other friends, contacts of Naru. If you'll excuse me, I have only one more question before I hafta go and contact 'em."  
  
Usagi nodded slowly.   
  
  
  
"Was Nephrite a good person to Naru? Did they have a good relationship?"  
  
Jou was almost certain that he knew the answer to this already, but as he already knew, sometimes the person that came in with the case was the last to be trusted.  
  
"OF COURSE! Nephrite loved and practially worshipped Naru with all of his heart! Naru loved him back just as much! In fact, that's why she broke up with Umino, was because she met Nephrite! They have had as happy as a relationship as Mamo-chan and I have!"  
  
  
  
Mamoru flushed lightly and gave his wife a tiny smile. "Detective Jounochi, may I accompany you with speaking to the other girls? I've known them all for years, and I might be able to help you out."  
  
Jou nodded and stood up. He took his hat from the table and nodded to Mrs. Chiba. "Thank you for your time Mrs. Chiba. I really am sorry for the loss of your friend."  
  
Usagi nodded, but as Jou went to the door, she grabbed Mamoru. "Mamo-chan......" Her eyes seemed to get watery and she sniffled a bit. Mamoru suddenly sweatdropped again and he looked up to Jou.  
  
"On second thought Detective....I think my wife needs me right now....."  
  
Jou smiled and nodded. "I getcha. Hey, I'll write down my cell phone number for ya just in case anythin' comes up, okay?" Jou scribbled the number down on his notepad and handed the paper to Mamoru, and Mamoru gave Jou his cell phone number as well. "I'll give ya a call after I get done talking to the first couple of contacts, right?"  
  
Mamoru nodded and Jou turned to go out the door. Usagi though looked Jou up and down quickly, then tugged Mamoru down so she could whisper in his ear. Mamoru's eyes widened and he grinned impishly.  
  
"Usagi says to watch out for Makoto. She likes good looking guys. Umm....don't let her get you alone, okay?"  
  
Jou nearly facefaulted. "Heh, sure I'll watch out for that one.......is she good lookin'?" Jou added with an equally impish grin and a wink to match.  
  
Both Usagi and Mamoru grinned at him as he left, taking out his cell phone. He looked at the first name on his list, Ami Mizuno.  
  
Jou walked down the street and hailed a taxi cab as he dialed the number, listening to it ring at least seven times before deciding that she wasn't home. Next was Makoto Kino, but she wasn't home either.   
  
He crossed his fingers as he dialed Hino Rei's home, and it rang three times before the phone was picked up.   
  
"Hello, Yuuchiro speaking." Jou let out a small sigh of relief and spoke.  
  
"Hello, this is Detective Jounochi Katsuya and I'm looking for a Miss Hino Rei. Is she in right now?"  
  
There was a short silence, as this Yuuchiro was obviously confused why a detective was calling for Rei. "Uhh, yeah, you just nearly missed her, she's heading out the door right now...." Jou heard the phone get held down away from the mouth and then heard the yell of "YO!! REI!! PHONE FOR YOU!!!!!"  
  
Jou then heard a yell just as loud as Yuuchiro's, even though the speaker was obviously MUCH farther away from the phone than Yuuchiro was.  
  
"YUUCHIRO!! I WAS ABOUT TO HEAD OUT THE DOOR! WHOEVER IT WAS CAN JUST WAIT!!!!"  
  
"BUT IT'S SOME DETECTIVE JOUPOCHI FOR YA!!!!"  
  
Jou really needed to keep track of how many times he'd sweatdropped today. Maybe he'd break some kind of record.....  
  
"A DETECTIVE!? GIMME THAT!!!!" Jou heard stomping and then the phone getting snatched with a "Hey!" from Yuuchiro.  
  
A female voice of perfect poise and decorum answered with a sweet, "Hello?"  
  
Jou had to stifle back a small laugh as he spoke. "Yes, is this Miss Hino Rei?"  
  
"Speaking."  
  
"This is Detective Jounochi Katsuya from Domino City. I was called in on a case regarding Miss Naru Osaka. You may already know of her death?"  
  
There was a pause. "Yes. I had heard. And you're trying to find out who killed her?"  
  
"Yes, and if you don't mind, there are a few questions I'd like to ask you regarding Miss Osaka."  
  
"Well Detective, I was just headed out the door to meet up with three other friends, then after that, we were going to go see Chiba Usagi together."  
  
"Those three friends wouldn't happen to be Ami Mizuno, Makoto Kino, and Minako Aino, would they?"  
  
"Why....yes Detective...they are....hey, I have an idea. Why don't you come to the coffee shop we were all heading to, and you can question us all at the same time?"  
  
Jou brightened up. This certainly made things easier on him....... "That sounds like a good idea, Miss Hino. Where is this place?"  
  
After getting the address from Rei, he hung up his cell phone.  
  
"Hey, cabbie? I changed my mind about lunch at the deli up there. Why don't you take me to this coffee place instead?"  
  
~*~  
  
Brood: GAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! *drop kicks her computer*  
  
Zutsokaki: *watching* AND IT'S GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *throws up his arms*  
  
WSJ: *eating popcorn and holding a pennant*   
  
Brood: *does a victory dance* Hey... I actually feel better...  
  
WSJ: *snick* Good for you... You know, too bad they're in Juuban and not Domino, otherwise we could have them all drop in on Malik and Otogi... *snicker*  
  
Brood: *sweatdrop* Oh yes, I can see it all now... Minako flirting with Malik, Otogi flirting with Minako, Malik flirting with Makoto, Makoto all out hitting on Jou...  
  
Zutsokaki: *shudders* The horror...  
  
WSJ: *sweatdrop* 


	8. Case2: Part 3: Cafés and Kisses

WSJ: *cackling evilly* 

Brood: *sweatdrop* Don't mind her, she's just happy she gets to add in her favorite Sailor Moon couple... 

WSJ: Mwaha! *waves a little flag with a chibi-Kunzite face on it* Minako/Kunzite forever! ^o^ 

Brood & Zutsokaki: v_v; 

Brood: She's GOTTA have that Minako/Kunzite in there..... 

Zutsokaki: HA! I'd like to see her squirm it into "Home Sweet Home!" Kunzite is DEAD in that storyline! HA! 

Disclaimer: Did we forget disclaimer last chapter? 0.o;; *Brood flings out Jou in Detective Mode to do the Disclamer* 

Jou: *sweatdrop* Anyway, they don't own YGO. Gwen and Hiro are SJ's, Amoura belongs to Brood. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. 

Brood: AND YOU BELONG TO ME!!! RoAR! *glomp* 

WSJ: O.O;; Brood... 

()()()()() 

The cab pulled up in front of a small resturant, classy but not overly expensive. Jou got out and paid the driver and thanked him, and then headed inside. He stood for a moment by the door, just surveying the scene. The cafe was of about medium size, and had about ten or twelve customers scattered around the various tables. In one corner was a long bar with stools, behind which a man about Jou's age with short blond hair was cleaning glasses. A girl of about eighteen with bright red hair was leaning against the counter and talking with him. Jou thought she might be the waitress from the clothes she wore and the way she kept glancing around the room to see if anyone needed anything. 

Seeing Jou, the red haired girl excused herself from the bar and hurried over. "Konnichiwa," she said, smiling at him. "May I help you?" 

"Yes," Jou said, smiling back. Dang but that skirt was short, and she had _good_-looking legs! "I'm meeting some... friends here." 

"Ah," the girl said, brightening up. "Rei-san said there would be someone else coming. Right this way." She led Jou back to a secluded corner of the Crown Arcade/Juice Bar, where three women were sitting around a large table and chatting idly. When Jou and the waitress walked up, the woman with long black hair stood up to greet them. 

"Arigatou Una," she said, nodding at the waitress. 

"Should I take your orders?" the red-headed Una asked. "Motoki and I could whip them up in a snap." 

The raven-haired woman shook her head. "There're still a couple more people coming." 

"Okay," Una said, and wandered off to take more people's orders. Jou took the seat that was indicated to him and shrugged out of his trench coat, taking a good, long look at each of the girls. 

The raven-haired one who'd greeted him had long hair that was pulled back neatly into a braid and serious violet eyes. She was wearing a no-nonsense white, button-down blouse and a loose black skirt with black boots. She smiled a little as Jou took his seat, and then she sat down as well. "Konnichiwa. I assume you're Detective Jounochi?" Jou nodded, and her smile widened a little. "I'm Hino Rei." 

"My name is Mizuno Ami," said the second, nodding at Jou as well. She had short, dark blue hair and blue eyes, and was dressed in a yellow and blue plaid jumper. 

The third had long brown hair pulled up into a high pony-tail and mischeivious green eyes. She held out her hand for Jou to shake, and gave him a flirtacious smile. Jou had already guessed before she introduced herself that she was Kino Makoto. 

"Well," he said once the introductions were done. "As you already know, my name is Jounochi Katsuya, and I'm a PI. A private investigater." 

Before he could say more, he was interrupted by a small comotion at the front door. All four of them turned in their seats to see a woman with long blond hair entering the cafe. She tripped over the rug coming in, and the man behind her quickly caught her before she could hit the floor. The two dusted themselves off and then made their way toward the table where Jou sat with the three women. The blond was giggling now, and holding on to the arm of her silver-haired male companion. "Oh Kunzite, thank you. I'm such a klutz." 

The man chuckled as he tucked a strand of silver hair behind one ear. "It's okay Minako, that's why I love you and you know it." 

"Here they go again..." Rei sighed as Minako and Kunzite took seats with them. "You two are so syrupy I don't know how you keep from getting cavities." 

Jou frowned a little as he eyed these two new additions. The blond was pretty enough, but the man, Kunzite, looked more like he could have had a boyfriend then a girlfriend. Long silver hair and a hoop through one ear, along with a ruffled shirt and tailor-made pants... Jou almost shook his head in sympathy. No way would Jou ever let himself look like that unless he had no choice. 

"Kanakari Kunzite," Kunzite said, leaning across the table a little to shake hands with Jou. "And this is my fiancee, Aino Minako." 

Jou sweatdropped a little. Okay fine, maybe he'd pegged Kunzite a bit wrong. But it was in his job description to judge people on first sight, right? "As I was saying, I'm Detective Jounochi Katsuya. I was hired by Ogino Nephrite to handle the murder of Osaka Naru in cooperation with both the Domino and Juuban police forces, specificly with Bakura Tamiya and Chiba Mamoru." He dug his notebook out of his pocket and flipped to a clean page. "Is there anything at all you can tell me that might be helpful?" 

Minako looked thoughtful and glanced at Kunzite. "Do you remember...?" 

Kunzite was nodding. "I do. When did you say she was murdered Jounochi-san?" 

"Uh..." Jou glanced at his watch. "Approximately 48 hours ago, why?" 

"Because day-before-yesterday Kunzite and I were going to visit a friend of mine who lives near Naru-chan's apartment building." Minako explained. "It was starting to get dark, and we were walking by when someone ran out of the building like the hounds of hell were after him! We thought it was a little strange, but nothing more." 

"Can you decribe this person?" Jou asked, scribbling furiously. 

"He was a lot shorter then me," Kunzite said. "About... this tall." He held his hand off the ground. 

"About five feet..." Jou murmered to himself as he made a note. "All right, go on. It was definately a male?" 

Minako and Kunzite both nodded. "Hai, and he had spikey hair, though it was too dark to tell what colour." 

Jou frowned as he mentally reviewed the decription. "So what you're telling me," he said carefully, "Is that you saw someone run out of Osaka Naru's apartment building. He was about five feet tall with spikey hair." Both nodded. "Did it look like anyone you know?" 

Kunzite looked a little angry. "Look Jounochi-san, we've all heard about the Winner scandal. No, the person we saw running was not Nephrite. He was too short, and the hair was too short as well." 

"All right, all right," Jou said, holding up his hands in defence. "I just wanted to make sure. What about the rest of you," he asked, looking over at Makoto, Ami, and Rei. "Anything else to add?" 

Ami looked startled. "The person Minako and Kunzite described sounds a lot like Unimo," she said. "But Umino's been going to see Naru a lot lately, so maybe he just found her dead and got scared and ran off, instead of staying to call the police like Nephrite did. He couldn't have murdered her... Could he?" 

"That," Jou said grimly. "Is what I'm here to find out." 

~*~ 

"Must I?" Ryou asked, looking up at Shizuka with a plaintive expression on his face. 

Shizuka laughed and pushed the bowl of soup closer. "You must! Look, I made it just for you Ryou-san, now eat." 

Ryou made a face, but not at the soup. "Must you call me Ryou-san? We're friends, right?" 

"I suppose," Shizuka said, blinking in surprise. 

Ryou flashed a winning smile at her. "Then it's 'Ryou' or 'Ryou-kun', hai?" 

"H-hai." Shizuka said. Quickly she turned away under the pretence of getting herself a bowl of soup. How was it that her face was burning, and that her heart did flips every time Ryou looked her way? It must be that thing she'd heard about, where nurses ended up falling in love with their patients. First she'd nursed Ryou back when he was so sick, and now she was helping him recover from his wounds. That was it, it had to be. That was all. 

Now back in control of herself, she turned back around to face her charge, only to find him gobbling up his soup like there would never be any more. She sweatdropped slightly as she observed, and wondered if all men had the same table manners or if Ryou had just picked his up from Jou. 

Glancing up and noticing Shizuka looking at him, Ryou smiled sheepishly and wiped a few drops of soup off his chin. "Shizuka, would you go get me my book, if it isn't too much trouble? I think it's on my desk." 

"Hai," Shizuka said, heading for the small den that had been converted into Ryou's bedroom. Immediately upon entering she noticed how clean and neat it was, and wondered absently why Ryou's cleanliness couldn't rub off a bit more on Jou if Jou's manners were going back the other way. She went over to the desk and found it to be the only messy part of the room. 

Books of all sorts were stacked at the corners, and the desk itself was strewn with papers. A notebook of some sort rested open with a pen stuck in it. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Shizuka picked up some of the loose papers and flipped through them. It startled her to realize that they were drawings, good ones! Here was one of Jou as he looked just when he found out about a new case, his eyes wide in anticipation and an excited little smile on his face. This one was of a girl Shizuka didn't know, with long white-blond hair and gentle brown eyes. 

And... Shizuka stared in shock. This drawing was of her, bent over the book she was reading, her long ginger hair falling into her face and her forehead crinkled in concentration. All around her were sketches of angels, their wings fanned out around her, as if to protect her. 

Her hands trembling, Shizuka dropped the drawings back onto the desk and picked up the notebook. Her concious told her it was a bad idea, but she had to know. At the top of the page the book was opened to was a date, yesterday's. Hands still trembling and her heart feeling like it would jump out of her chest, Shizuka quickly scanned the page. 

_Dear Amane,   
Too bad you'll probably never get to meet Shizuka-chan. She's nice, and very pretty, and the sweetest girl I've ever met (besides you, of course). I don't know why, imouto-chan, but every time she walks into the room, every time she smiles at me, every time we joke or laugh or talk together... I don't know, but I feel something special, something I've never felt before with anyone else, not even you. I've never been in love before, is this what it feels like?_

"Shizuka?" 

Shizuka squeaked in surprise and jumped a little, whirling around. Ryou was leaning up against the doorway, one hand against his side. She gulped and looked gultily down at the book in her hands, which she now realized was Ryou's journal. Quickly she replaced it on the desk and tried to make her voice and hands steady. "Ryou Jeskan Hiroki, what are you doing up? You should be in bed!" 

"Shizuka Amanda Jounochi," he said in the same tone, coming to stand in front of her. "What are you doing in my things?" 

Shizuka didn't notice the playful glint in his eyes, and looked down in shame. "I-I'm sorry Ryou-san, I didn't mean to! But-" 

"Now wait," Ryou said softly, cocking his head at her. This made his bangs fall into his eyes in such a way that it caused shivers to go up Shizuka's spine. "Didn't I ask you to just call me Ryou?" 

"H-hai Ryou..." Shizuka said weakly, staring down at her feet. She was afraid to meet his eyes, afraid of what she would see there, what he would see in her own eyes. 

" 'H-hai Ryou'," he mocked her, taking her chin in his hands and tilting her face upward. "Is that all you can say to me?" 

But he didn't give her the chance to say anything at all. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: ^o^!! *dies of happiness* 

Zutsokaki: V_V;; Terrific... 

Brood: Fluff!! WAAAAIIIII!!!!! *glomps CJ in happiness* 

CJ: Gaahh!!....can't.....breathe........ 

WSJ: *giggling happily to herself* Mwha! Yes this is late, but hopefully the next will come sooner! *semi-glares at Brood* Hurry up! I wanna get to our bomb threat... *startled cough* ^^; Did I say that? I mean... 

God bless minna-san! 


	9. Case 2: Part 4: Suspects Gallore!

Brood: *typing, fingers flying all across the keyboard, staring at the screen in severe concentration* 

Zutsokaki: Well it's about TIME you got to writing that! 

Brood: *in a monotone, deadpan voice* Must....ignore....idiot....must...keep....writing.... must....not....incur...wrath of.....imouto-chan.... 

WSJ: *standing behind Brood, holding a bullwhip in one hand and the Punjab lasso in the other* Write! Faster neesan, faster! *cracks whip over Brood's head* 

Zutsokaki: *sweatdrops* 

Disclaimer: *CP inches his way around SJ, eyeing the bullwhip warrily* SJ-mama and Broody-auntie don't own YGO nor Sailor Moon neither. 

~*~

Jounochi, hearing these leads from the bishonen and his girlfriend, leaned back and ordered another coffee from a passing Una. As she trotted off, he allowed himself one glance in the direction of her thighs before turning back to the four girls. 

"You all said somethin' a bit interestin' to me," he said, eyeing the girls and Kunzite for a moment under the brim of his hat and long blonde bangs. "You said that Umino had been visitin' Miss Osaka quite frequently until her death. But when I spoke to Mrs. Chiba earlier today, she said that Naru and Umino hadn't spoken in at least six months. How is it that your stories and hers could be different like that?" 

Rei's eyes narrowed and she darted a glance at Minako. She only shrugged and looked at Makoto. At Minako's glance, Makoto seemed to snap out of staring at Jou's face, and she met the gaze of her friend. Then Makoto turned a more serious look to the detective. 

"Detective Jounochi....what did Usagi tell you? I mean, about this last meeting?" She pushed a stray wisp of hair away from her eyes, letting the full effect of their deep green hit Jou. But he still managed a very direct answer. 

"Miss Kino, I believe that the full testemonies of other witnesses or contacts is to remain confidential until I see fit. I only told you that snippit so that I could get a better answer out of you girls." Jou stared at her back with all the efficiency of a master poker player, and Makoto seemed to blanch. 

"It's just that....Detective...we'd all heard different things regarding Naru and Umino...and we'd wondered where Usagi got that story from...." She resumed her flirty glare at him, and Jou had to switch his attention swiftly if he were to get anything done, besides getting him a date for that weekend. 

"Ano....Detective-san..." Jou turned his head in the direction of the soft voice. It was Mizuno Ami speaking, her lips coming off of a short straw stuck in a cool drink. "I think I know a bit of something. Usagi told me quite awhile back, maybe five or six months back, about this "final" meeting of Naru and Umino. A gas station, was it?" 

Jou nodded gravely, and the other three girls turned to stare at Ami. She promptly colored under their gaze and fixed her attention on Jou, who was now looking back in his notepad. He felt somebody watching him, and instinctively shuffled away from Minako, who was gazing over his shoulder. 

She giggled lightly. "Sorry, I have this really bad nosy streak....." She turned to look at Kunzite sheepishly, who smiled at her and apologized to the detective for her. 

Jou shrugged it off and shuffled through his pages, figuring since Ami knew something about it, it was safe to tell most of it. "Yeah, it was a gas station, around six months ago. This is exactly what Mrs. Chiba told me. She said that Naru herself told her about it. Said that Umino was a perfect picture of calm, even askin' how Nephrite was doin'. I don't see anything wrong with that," he added onto the end, eyeing the girls once again. 

"The calm before the storm, I believe that's how they say it...." Rei spoke softly, airily waving her hand. 

Jou noted this reaction and turned to Rei. "So what you're sayin' is that you believe that Umino _is_ the one to have carried this murder out?" 

"All I'm saying, Detective, is that all possibilities are open at this point." 

".............Yes. All possibilities. Now tell me ladies, what led you to believe that Umino had been visiting Naru a lot before her death?" 

There was a long moment of silence before anyone spoke. "We saw them," Minako spoke up, staring straight ahead. "Rei-chan and I, that is. We were walking our dogs through the park, with my cat Artemis also. This was about three weeks ago, I think." 

"Did you notice anythin' odd?" Jou was leaning back towards the blonde at this point, his pen poised directly over his notepad. 

"Not really. Seemed like a meeting between friends at first glance. But then it got a little odd looking....." Minako trailed off. 

Rei looked oddly at Minako, but picked up the story. "Yes...Umino seemed to be getting a little bit angrier and angrier as their conversation went on. Naru was also looking more and more uncomfortable. It seemed like Umino was trying to get Naru into his car with him." 

Jou's pen was flying swiftly by now. "And neither of you could hear any of this conversation? 

"We weren't close enough. All we could do was make assumptions. In the end, Naru simply walked away from him, and Umino yelled something that we _could_ barely hear." 

"And.............?" Jou asked. 

"I'll have you back yet, Naru-chan. You're MY koibito." 

Jou's eyes widened for a second, then returned to normal size as he asked, "Are you sure that's what he said?" 

Rei shrugged. "And what could I mistake it for?" 

"Point taken. Any other accounts between Naru and Umino that I haven't heard about yet?" 

Three female heads swiveled to look at Ami, who's face colored yet again. Jou got the hint and asked her politely if she could recount. 

"Well, Detective-san....I remember about a week ago, Umino went to Naru's apartment while I was visiting for a moment. She needed some help with the article she was writing for the magazine she worked for, on the new inventions of this year. But while we were talking, Umino knocked on the door, and without thinking, Naru said "Come in," probably thinking it was Nephrite or Usagi. Come to think of it though, Usagi wouldn't have knocked...." 

Jou nodded a bit distractedly, as Una had just returned with his coffee and he had another glance at those legs of hers. Nevertheless, he'd caught everything she'd said. He took one last glance then turned back to Ami, taking a sip of his coffee. 

"Do go on, Miss Mizuno." 

Ami nodded slowly. "Well, as I'd said, Naru said "Come in," and in walked Umino. I was surprised, but it was nothing compared to Naru's reaction. She seemed very nervous suddenly, and she peeped back at me before hissing something at him. Umino didn't seem happy at whatever she'd said, but he hissed something back. That's when she stood up and escorted him back to the door. He looked pretty angry at this, which was something I'd never seen from Umino. But I can read lips, just a bit, since I have a deaf cousin and I've been learning. I could only see Umino say, "later." 

Jou stared hard at Ami over his coffee cup's rim before speaking. "And why did you choose to hold this information from me until now?" 

Makoto spoke, tossing a wink into her sentence, making Jou's insides jump. "We just wanted to know for sure if you were the real deal before we told you anything..." 

"The real deal? What did you think I was, some prankster? Chiba Mamoru brought me here from Domino to help on this!" 

The girls hardly seemed fazed by this, and Kunzite eyed the detective strangely. "Jounochi-san, it's clear that you have the right ideas when it comes to this. If you have any leads, could you contact us immediately? I don't know if there's anything else we can do to help you at this point...." 

Jou took this as a dismissal, only shrewdly hidden. "Of course. I'll contact if anything new comes up. Call me also, if anything else comes to mind, or important information resurfaces in your mind." With that, Jou stood and left a tip on the table for Una, and moved to walk outside. 

A hand touched his, and he paused. He realized, looking down, that Makoto had slipped a piece of paper into his hand. He looked at it and grinned inwardly. 

"I already have your number, Miss Kino," Jou said with a sly wink. She smiled and winked back, and Jou stuffed it into his back pocket anyways. As he left, he heard Minako say, "Mako-chan! You're shameless!!! Sure, he's cute and all...." 

"Hey Minako! He's a hunk! In fact, reminds me of one of my old boyfriends! You think I'd let a studmuffin like THAT get out of my grasp?" 

At that, Rei and Ami jumped in, with an indignant yet loving sounding reaction at Minako calling Jou "cute" from Kunzite. 

Jou couldn't hold back the grin and the immediate chest puffing he felt at being called "hot" and "cute" but what was he to do? He couldn't help it if he were jaw-droppingly studly and attractive and eye-popping.... 

Oh crud. A cab just passed him by as he was ego-boosting. 

The next try, he was more aware of his surroundings, so he managed to hail the cab to the bus terminal, to wait the next bus to Domino. While waiting for the bus, he turned on his cell phone and walked a short distance away from the small group waiting to catch the bus. 

One ring....two rings....three rings.... 

"Chiba Mamoru speaking." 

"Chiba-san, this is Jounochi callin' in. I've just gotten done talkin' to the four girls and an added bonus from Aino Minako's fiancè, Kanakari Kunzite, who was with them." 

"Ahh, Kunzite-san. I always thought he was a good guy. Anyway, what did you learn?" 

"Well, I learned that accordin' to them, six months ago wasn't the last time Umino and Naru were seen together." There was a silence on the other end for a moment, and then finally Mamoru spoke again. 

"Are you sure about this? I mean, what can you tell me?" 

"Not much from where I am right now. Wait until I get back into Domino and I'll call again. But a couple things before I hang up, Chiba-san. How's your wife holdin' up?" 

"Well, this has obviously hit her really hard, and she's fine as long as I don't leave the room......I mean, Naru was her best friend and all," Mamoru added, lowering his voice, as Usagi was obviously in the room with him as well. 

"I hope she does better soon.....and the second thing, Chiba-san....." 

"Yes, Detective?" 

"Keep Hino Rei, Kino Makoto, and Aino Minako under surveillance." 

~*~

When Jou had finally gotten back to Domino, he'd felt drained. This case was getting confusing. A jealous boyfriend driven to murder, or other motives from supposed friends? And of course, Nephrite himself wasn't out of the picture...he was meeting with him a bit later anyways. 

Jou needed a bit of a nerve wind down, so he strolled idly into the Coffee Shop owned by Malik and Otogi. Taking a seat in a booth close to the counter, Malik strolled up and sat down across from Jou. 

"Hey Jounochi-kun, rough day at work?" The tan blonde asked with a grin. 

"You're tellin' me! A girl gets murdered, and suddenly there's a whole list of suspects!" 

Malik let out a low whistle and called Otogi over. "Hey, Otogi-kun, get Jou one of our great pastries or something, this guy needs a chill pill!" With that, a cute female customer called Malik over for some help, and he had to steer Otogi to Jou's table so he could avoid going to the wrong one with the plate of pastries. 

Otogi grinned sheepishly and set the plate down in front of Jou, sitting down where Malik had been. "So tell me Jou, what's going on?" 

Jou heaved a sigh and leaned back, reaching for a pastry. "Well, seems like this girl who got killed up in Juuban's got a whole list o' people who coulda done it! I mean, first there's the usual jealous ex-boyfriend, only this guy is the short nerdy type, big glasses and all...." 

"Short and nerdy? Did he have short light brown hair?" Otogi screwed up his face, as if calling back a dismissed memory. 

Jou stared at Otogi, then flipped to his notepad page where the physical description of Umino was. "Uuhh...yeah. Only about five foot, or five foot one, big glasses and short light brown hair. Kinda sticks up at the top...." 

"I've seen him in here Jou." 

Jou's head snapped up from the notepad. "You're serious?" 

Otogi nodded gravely. "He came in about a week or so ago. Looked kinda down. He got some coffee and just sat there over it, staring into it, like he was at a bar or something. I can remember him now just because of that behavior...he kept mumbling though..." 

"Shhh!!!" Jou said suddenly. "You never know who might be listenin' in, Otogi. Just come to my office in a half hour or so, okay?" 

Otogi nodded. "Okay then Jou. I will. I hope I can help you out..." He pushed a blank strand of hair away from his eyes and stood up. "I'll see you then." 

Jou nodded and stood too, leaving the pastry on the table. Then he walked out without a word, walking to the Police Station two blocks away and picking up his car. 

When he got inside his home, he was greeted with the sight of a calmly lying down Ryou, a small smile on his face. 

"Hey kid, Shizuka-chan takin' good care of ya?" 

Ryou nodded silently, his smile growing ever-so-slightly. "Mm hmm, she has been." 

Jou grinned obliviously. "That's good, 'cause last I heard, you were gonna check yourself into a hospital if she cared for ya any more!" 

Ryou just grinned bigger and nestled deeper into his pillows on the couch. Jou shrugged and called out for his sister. 

She soon came bustling out of the kitchen, her eyes wide and livid. "Jou-chan! You're home from Juuban! Are you okay!?" 

"Woah Shizzy-chan! I'm okay! Yeah, the case seems a bit rough, but nothing I can't take care of...." Shizuka seemed a bit more flustered than usual, but he supposed it was because of him being gone far off and all. 

Ryou's interest seemed activated when Jou started talking about the case. "What's it like, Jou-san? Who are the suspects? Got any case files I can go through?" 

"Hey kid, slow down there! I'm goin' up to my office now to make that case file, but I promise once I get it sorted, I'll send it down to ya, okay? I'm seein' someone in a few moments who's gonna try and help me out, so I'm gonna be addin' to it also. Keep your shirt on!" He grinned at Ryou, who relaxed back into his pillows. 

"So I'll be upstairs if either of you guys need me!" With that, Jou trotted upstairs, leaving a still-flustered Shizuka and a contented Ryou behind. 

It seemed like Jou had hardly gotten started when there was a knock at his office door. Knowing who it was already, Jou almost said "come in." But remembering Ami Mizuno's tale, he got up and answered the door himself. It was indeed Ryuji Otogi, who was wearing a more everyday attire than his coffee shop work clothes. He seemed very sharp in his black button up shirt, tucked neatly into his smooth red slacks. 

"Sit down, Otogi, sit here." Jou directed Otogi to a chair in front of his desk, and at that moment, Jou realized how messy he'd let his desk become. It had been very neat since Ryou had come on. Maybe Shizuka would let up on her Ryou-No-Work Feminazism for a moment and let him come up and clean off his desk............. 

"So, Jounochi-kun....you wanted to hear more about this guy? The nerd?" 

"Yeah, yeah I did. Thanks for comin'." Jou reclined in his desk and tried to clear a spot off large enough to hold his notepad. 

Otogi nodded and leaned forward. "Just as I was saying earlier, it seemed like this guy was mumbling lots of strange things over his coffee, I mean, just sort of like some people do...." 

Jou nodded and began writing. 

"Well, after awhile I could make out what he was mumbling. Seemed like he was saying.........." 

There was a soft knock at the door. "Jou-chan? I brought up some tea for you since you've been gone all day, and for your visitor too, if he's here yet." 

Jou grinned and got up to open the door for Shizuka. "Sure thing, sis, thanks alot!" Mmm...he could smell honey and mint in his cup. Just how he liked it..... 

Otogi had seemed to lose all movement after turning around to see who walked in the door. His eyes hung wide open, and his mouth was a little ajar. Once Jou had grabbed the tray from his sister though, Otogi rose. That's when Shizuka seemed to really notice him and how he was looking at her. She colored lightly and turned to leave, excusing herself politely. 

Jou smiled and shut the door, setting the tray on Ryou's desk and poured two cups. "Want some?" Jou asked innocently, stirring the honey and mint into his. 

"In a minute...hey Jou, where's your bathroom?" 

"Ooh, it's just out the door and the next door to your left," Jou said idly, taking a test sip of the tea. 

"Thanks," Otogi said shortly, and made a beeline for the door. He managed to get out into the hall just as Shizuka was heading for the stairs that led back into the main house. 

"Excuse me, miss...." Otogi began, catching her attention. 

Shizuka paused and turned around slowly, looking at him politely. "Yes?" 

"I was actually just wondering.....uummmm....if you were free sometime tomorrow?" Usually he tried chatting it up with girls before asking them out, but for some reason he felt he had to jump on this quickly. 

It certainly seemed to have caught her offguard enough, because she stammered out a "Y-yeah" before she even knew what she had been saying. Catching herself all too late though, her eyes widened. Otogi grinned at her then, and she felt her heart skip a beat. 

"Great! Would you like to join me for lunch then? I mean, I know this great place close to the coffee shop I co-own....." His eyes seemed to glitter with a small hope. 

"Uh, yeah, I know where it is, oniisan goes there all the time..." Shizuka didn't know what to do now. She'd let her guard down long enough to let this perfectly handsome guy know that she was free tomorrow, and he'd just asked her out to lunch. But if she turned him down now, it would make her seem very rude, and possibly hurt this guy's feelings. She really hated that. But what would Ryou say? She and Ryou had....well, does kissing once really make you both steady daters?, her treacherous mind said quietly. 

Not really....she gave a small reply. She knew she liked Ryou, that was a fact. That seemed to settle it then. She would accept this guy's offer, only to be polite, but tell him at the end that she was getting involved with someone, but thank him for the lovely afternoon anyways. That seemed like the perfect solution, really. 

"O-okay then....sounds nice....uuuhhh..." 

"Oh, I'm Ryujii Otogi," he said with a small grin and bow. "At your service, m'lady." 

"Ahhh.....Jounochi Shizuka," she said, introducing herself somewhat nervously. 

"Well, Shizuka-san, it was lovely meeting you, and I'll see you tomorrow around....say one o' clock?" 

Shizuka nodded slowly, and Otogi turned away back to the office nodding politely at her. 

~*~ 

Brood: *cackles* Yay! This chapter is done!!! 

Zutsokaki: ............................Hmmmm........you really threw a monkey wrench into the gears here, didn't you? 

WSJ: *twitching slightly* Gaaaah... 

Zutsokaki: What's her problem? What happened to the bullwhip? 

Brood: *smirks* Hehehe... She's in denial. 

WSJ: Ryou and Shizuka.... Shizuka and Otogi... Like both couples... Gaaaaaaah... *twitches more* I have to write next chapter... Otogi and Shizuka on date... *tears hair out in frustration at being forced to choose between her two favorite couples* Curse you Broooooood!!! 

Brood: *snickers* 

God bless minna-san! 


	10. Case 2: Part 5: The Fight

WSJ: .......*turns to glare at Brood* I SO hate you, you know? Curse you for making me write this chapter...! 

Brood: *cackles* 

WSJ: *looks thoughtful* I wonder if Phantom-san has any spare chandeliers... 

Brood: Muahahahahaha.........I just thought I'd throw in some fun things for our lovely plot.... 

WSJ: *glares!* 

Disclaimer: *Brood shoves CJ onto the screen, dressed in a cute chibi-version of his detective outfit* 

CJ: Bwood & Wingleadew don't won Yugioh!!! *looks at Brood* Can I go now? 

()()()()() 

Otogi slipped back into the office to find Jou sipping his tea and reading over his notes, making additional notes in the margins whenever he saw fit. Since the detective was so engrossed in the report he was preparing to send down to Ryou, he didn't notice the self-saticfied smirk on Otogi's face. The raven-haired man took a seat again, waiting politely for Jou to finish up and turn his attention back to him. After several moments of scribbling, Jou looked up again. "Sorry, keep talkin'. You said you could hear what he was mumblin'?" 

"Sorta." Otogi said. "I only caught snatches as I was walking by, but it sounded like he was saying something about wishing he could save her, but she just wouldn't listen." 

"Her," Jou mused. "Who's 'her'?" 

Otogi shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said, I could only hear bits of what he was saying. After awhile he just got up and suddenly left, and he looked angry. I happened to be standing by the door when he passed, and he was saying something about 'paying him back for all he'd done to her'." 

Jou's eyes widened as he hurridly made a few more notes. _'This can't be right,'_ he thought. _'From this it sounds like Umino didn't kill her. But then... who did?'_

Jou swallowed and pushed his cup of tea away, suddenly naucious. At first this case had just seemed cut and dried, but now... "Thanks Otogi, you've been a big help. I'll let you know if I need anything else, okay?" 

"Sure," Otogi said, nodding and standing to leave. "Anytime Jounochi-kun," he smirked slightly. "Any time..." 

~*~

Somehow, Shizuka managed to get through the rest of the day without acting too aired out and distracted, although Ryou and Jou both asked her several times if she was feeling okay. Thankfully though, Ryou was distracted from pursuing the idea after Jou gave him the case file, which he eagerly began to dig through, and which kept him occupied the rest of the evening. Leaving him in his room, Jou and Shizuka made themselves comfortable in the den to watch a movie. Jou was soon so busy cheering for the hobbits that he didn't notice if Shizuka was acting a little more spacey than normal. 

Long after she left Jou snoring on the couch, Shizuka was still laying awake, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw them. They were so different, but still so much alike. White hair and black, tan skin and pale, one was a lowly clerk and detective-in-training, and the other co-owned his own business. One was rich, the other had stumbled off the street. But then again.... One had kissed her, the other just flirted. One was nice and sweet and kind, the other she barely knew. The choice should be so obvious, yet still... 

She rolled over. She hadn't even gotten to know Otogi Ryuuji yet. She could make her decisions later. And besides! She was only eighteen... 

Finally she gave up on sleep and sat up. Stepping into her slippers she made her way downstairs, flipping off the TV which had since gone to static and covering Jou with a light blanket as she went through. She peeked around Ryou's partially open door and had to bite her lip to keep herself from yelling at him. All the drawings from his desk were gone, stacked neatly on a shelf over the dresser. Instead, it was Jou's case file scattered across the desk top. Ryou had obviously fallen asleep while making some notes of his own, because he was hunched over the desk with a pen clutched loosly in one hand, snoring lightly. 

"I don't know why I even bother!" Shizuka whispered feircly to herself, throwing up her hands in disgust. Making her way across the dark room, she gently shook Ryou by the shoulder. "Ryou? Ryou-kun?" 

"Mmmh?" he asked, stirring slightly under her hands. "I dun' wanna get up yet..." 

"It's not even morning yet, you jerk," Shzuka whispered. "You fell asleep at your desk, and there's no way that's good for your stitches. Come on, get into bed." 

Ryou allowed himself to be pulled out of his chair and shuffled toward the bed, yawning widely and brushing hair out of his eyes. In a matter of a few minutes Shizuka had him into bed, and he was already mostly asleep again. "G'night 'Zuka-chan... See ya' tomorrow..." 

"Good night Ryou," she said softly, closing the door behind her as she left. She stood in the hallway for quite awhile, Ryou's doorknob digging into her lower back as she stared out the nearby window at the stars. What was she going to do? 

~*~

The next morning, Shizuka was awake before either of the men, and was puttering restlessly around the kitchen when they came stumbling in, rubbing their eyes and yawning. 

"I smell food..." Jou drawled, running his hand through tangled blond hair as he plopped down on a kitchen chair, blinking sleepily at his sister. 

"What time is it?" Ryou asked, rubbing his eyes and reaching for the coffee pot. 

"Almost seven." Shizuka said, checking on the waffles she had cooking. "You're up early." 

"How could we stay asleep when it smelled so good?" Jou whined, looking plaintively at the waffle maker. Shizuka and Ryou both chuckled, knowing well Jou's love of good food. In a few minutes the waffles were ready, and Ryou was a bit more awake after the application of generous amounts of coffee. 

"So what are your plans today, Jou-sama?" Ryou asked, sopping up some loose syrup on his plate with the last bit of waffle. "It looks to me like your two main suspects are Nephrite and this Umino guy." 

Jou nodded thoughtfully, setting his fork down and leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, but we can't rule out those girls either. Naru was Usagi's best friend, so any of them could have killed her out of jealousy." 

Ryou wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "They'd kill her just because of a friendship?" 

Jou shrugged. "Who knows the way a woman's mind works." 

"Hey!" Shizuka protested good-naturedly, planting her hands on her hips. Then she laughed and relaxed. "Well, you might be home by yourself part of today, Ryou-kun. I have some errands to run. I'll probably leave around noon, grab lunch on the town, and be back about two or three. Will you be okay by yourself?" 

Ryou nodded, chuckling dispite himself. "I think I'll make it." 

Jou stood up to put his plate in the sink, then grabbed Ryou by the arm. "Come on, I want to go over the case with you. Maybe you can see something I missed." The two of them disappeared into Ryou's room where the case file was still spread out. Shizuka laughed a little and shook her head. It was never dull when you lived with a PI. 

She managed to keep herself busy with chores most of the morning. When she got ready to leave, she knocked on Ryou's door and yelled through the wood that she was on her way out. She got a muffled reply that sort-of sounded like "okay", and left it at that. 

It was only a short drive to the cafe, and Shizuka had her own car, so she didn't need to borrow Jou's huge black monstrosity. As she pulled into the parking lot she saw Otogi waiting outside on a bench next to the door. He was dressed casually, in a pair of black slacks and a white button-up shirt with a dark purple vest that brought out his eyes. Shizuka climbed out of her car and blushed when she realized Otogi was holding roses. Quickly she glanced at her reflection in the car window, and decided she looked good enough for just a casual lunch meeting (she refused to call it a "date"). She was wearing a knee-length powder pink skirt with a white polo shirt and black suspenders. Her hair was pulled back into a long ginger tail that she could almost sit on. 

Otogi stood up as he saw her coming, and shifted nervously from foot to foot. "Hello Miss Jounochi, I'm glad you could make it." 

Shizuka laughed in an attempt to hide her own nervousness. "Please Otogi-san, just call me Shizuka." The businessman nodded. There was a short, uncomfotable pause, until Otogi seemed to remember something. 

"Oh!" he held out the flowers toward her. "These are for you." 

"Thank you," she said, shyly taking the roses from him. "You didn't have to." 

He smiled at her, the same smile that had wooed many a woman. "Of course I did." 

Shizuka blushed and ducked her face under the pretence of entering the cafe. Malik led them to a corner booth and waited politely as Shizuka looked over the menu. Otogi, of course, knew what they served here from back to front. Malik took their orders and then the Egyptian trotted off toward the kitchens, trying to keep his snickerings to a minimum. It was a Friday afternoon, so the cafe was fairly busy. A young woman with lavendar hair was waiting tables and ferrying orders back to the two men working in the kitchens as Malik lounged behind the counter, working the cash register. 

"I thought it was just you and Malik that worked here." Shizuka said, surprised. 

Otogi shook his head. "The guys in the kitchens are always there, and usually me and Malik-kun handle everything out here. But we've been so busy lately we hired Miho on as part time. And I have to say, it has been nice having the extra help." 

Shizuka nodded absently, glancing around the cafe. Its walls were a soft, ambiant blue, and the ceiling was patterned with clouds. Paintings and drawings of various subjects hung on the walls. Music was playing quietly in the background, probably something of Malik's choosing, as it had a decidedly Middle-Eastern flavor to it. The seats were all upholstered in real cloth, a fine dark blue with abstract swirls of a slightly lighter blue. The tables were all a light blue mock-marble. "This place is really nice." 

"Thank you." Otogi said, obviously pleased. He smiled at her. "Really though, the design was mostly Malik's idea. I just supplied the cloth for the chairs." 

"What made you decide to go into business?" Shizuka asked, beginning to get over her nervousness. 

"That's easy," Malik said, making his way over to them with their orders balanced on a tray he carried in one hand. "My sister and brother are both really gung-ho on people-helping. My sister Isis is a nurse and a captain in the Domino Police, and my big brother Rashiid teaches gym and Middle East history over at Domino High. Both of them are quite a bit older than me, so when I finally got old enough to work I had all these huge expectations piled on top of me." He shrugged and set down their food. "'Togi-kun and I went to college together in Cairo, so after he came home and I decided to move over here myself, it just seemed natural that we'd go into business together." He grinned at her and winked, and then backed off to go handle another customer. 

Shizuka turned toward Otogi with wide eyes. "You went to school in Egypt?" 

Otogi grinned and nodded. "My parents are rich, and they thought it would be a good experience for me to go overseas for college. In their opinion, America is too stuck-up, England is too far away, Russia's too cold, and China doesn't have enough women," he rolled his eyes dramaticly. "My father's opinion, not my mother's. Anyway, they finally thought of asking me where I might like to go, so I ended up rooming with Malik at Cairo University for four years. Both of us have got degrees in business management. I really wanted to come home and open a game shop, but like Malik said, his family's big on public service, so we started up a resturant instead." He winked and took a sip of his milk shake. "And what a good idea it was!" 

Shizuka blinked. "Hold on... If you went to four years of college in Cairo... just how old are you?" 

Otogi face-faulted. "Malik and I are both twenty-six." he admitted grudgingly. "You?" 

Shizuka found herself blushing. Ryou would be turning twenty-one in a couple months. At least he was closer to her age. "I'm only eighteen." 

Otogi blinked at her, as if he hadn't realized she was that young. "Wow, shouldn't you still be in school then?" 

Shizuka nodded, looking down at her hands. "I've graduated high school already, and I'm taking classes at the communtiy college just outside of Domino. I'm probably not going to go to university though." 

"Why not?" 

Shizuka shrugged helplessly. "My big brother Jou's a detective. He's always getting into one scrape or another. Did you hear about the car bombing a few months ago that killed..." she bit her lip, stumbling over the name of the so recently departed friend "That killed M-mariah-chan? Jou could have just as easily been in that car with her! And now that Ryou-kun's around Jou's likely to get into twice as many scrabbles, probably dragging poor Ryou along for the ride. _Someone_ with a sensible head on her shoulders has got to be around to bandage their wounds and knock some common sense into those heads!" 

Otogi leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows raised way up into his headband. "Oh, I see," he said, smiling shrewdly at her. "Is that how it is?" 

"How what is?" Shizuka asked, trying to fend off a blush. 

Otogi clasped his hands together, imitating Shizuka. "Ryou-kun this, Ryou-kun that, oh _Ryou-kun_!" 

"It's not like that at all!" Shizuka said, her cheeks a bright scarlett. "He just stays at our house. He's an orphan with no money, he hasn't got any place else to go!" 

"Ohhh!" Otogi cooed. "What a classic story! The freeloader falls in love with the maiden of the household." he placed a hand to his heart. "Such a touching romance." 

"He's not a freeloader!" Shizuka defended him. "What were Jou and I supposed to do, leave him on the street to die? And we are not a couple!" 'Not yet, anyway...' 

So fast she didn't have time to react, Otogi had leaned across the table and taken her chin gently in his hand. "Then what about me?" 

And he kissed her. 

~*~

"Cut! Run the scene again! Anzu-chan, I need to get more passion from you!" 

Anzu smiled sweetly at her father/director from her place on stage. "Yes daddy!" 

Amoura and Gwen, both of whom were sitting in the wings, groaned. Gwen dropped her head into her hands. "I swear she keeps messing up on purpose so she gets to play this scene over and over." the American muttered. "And he's _my_ husband." 

Amoura sighed and patted her friend on the shoulder as Anzu and Hiro got ready to run through the kissing scene again. "At zis rate, ve von't be on stage for another two hours. Vant to go for coffee?" 

Gwen brightened and stood up, waving to her uncomfortable husband and winking. He gave her a 'don't-leave-me-here' distressed look, but Gwen ignored him as she and Amoura grabbed their coats and headed for the door, telling Director Mazaki they'd be back in an hour or so. Thirty seconds later they emmerged into the afternoon sun and turned left, heading toward the cafe that was only a block or so down from the theatre. 

"I vish Ryou vas still around..." Amoura sighed. "He vas zee only one zat could stand up to Anzu and not get chewed out by zee director..." 

"And a hell of a lot good that did him..." Gwen muttered, shoving her hands angrily into her pockets. "There are days I just want to shove Anzu-baka off the stage for what she did to him! I wish we could convince him to come back some how." 

"'Ee 'as a good job now, vith zat detective. And besides, Anzu vould zee to it zat 'e got run off again if 'e ever came back." Amoura pointed out sadly. "I never understood why she 'ated 'im zo much." 

Gwen snickered a little. "Maybe because he always got the parts she wanted?" The two actresses laughed, but it was strained. Neither of them wanted to think about _that_ production. That was when all the trouble had started... 

They soon reached the cafe and went inside, only to find the usual after-lunch crowd. A pair of teenage girls toting sketch pads and manga were louging next to the big picture window. A trio of blue-uniformed policemen apparently on their coffee break were sitting at a booth near the door, chatting amiably with one another. Miho the waitress was standing next to the counter, talking to Malik. Over in the corner was Otogi Ryuji, the other owner of the coffee shop, with a young woman that looked vaguely familiar. 

"Is that Jounochi Shizuka?" Gwen asked. "The sister of that guy Ryou works for?" 

The name clicked with the face and Amoura nodded. "Oui, it is. I 'ope Otogi isn't bugging 'er too much, I zink Ryou really likes 'er." 

Gwen shrugged and took off her jacket, sitting down at a small table near the counter. "None of our business." 

Amoura nodded. "Vhat do you vant, Gven? I'll get it for us." Gwen gave her her order, and the green-haired girl started toward Malik at the cash register, rummaging through her purse for loose change. She gave the Egyptian propetier their orders, and he called them back to the men working in the kitchen. 

"You could have had Miho come take your orders, you know," Malik told her, winking. "Guess you just couldn't resist coming to see my pretty face, eh?" 

Amoura snorted, her mouth curving upward into a smile despite herself. "Dream on!" 

"Aw, come on now," Malik said, reaching across the counter to grab her wrist. "You find me attractive!" 

"No vay, you snake," Amoura said playfully. She, Gwen, and Hiro came to this cafe a lot, and all three of them knew Malik and Otogi quite well. "You should know me by now, I 'ave much better taste zen zat!" 

Malik pretended to look hurt. "Oh cherie, that cuts me to the quick, it does," Raising her hand to his face, he placed a kiss on it and then let go, pretending to ignore Amoura's blush. "So where's Hiro-kun today?" 

Amoura glanced up at him and simply told him. Malik's eyes widened and his face broke into a smirk. "Oh. Tell him I send my sympathies." 

The two chatted a while longer, until Amoura's and Gwen's orders came, and Malik helped the French maiden carry them back to the table. Then he had to get back to work before Miho decided to skin him. They were already short one hand today, what with Otogi on his date over in the corner. 

Gwen and Amoura stayed at the shop a awhile longer, talking together about nothing in particular, the way that very good friends do. Suddenly Gwen elbowed her friend and hissed "'Moura, look! That scum of a dice-dealer is kissing Ryou's girl!" 

Amoura sweatdropped. "Gven, ve do not know if she is his girl. Juzt because zey live in zee zame 'ouse..." 

Gwen waved it off. "Oh of course she's not his girl, not yet. But did you see the way he kept looking at her while we were there the other day? The way his eyes followed her around the room? He's completely smitten with her! I think we should at least tell him that she's taken, so he won't wind up with a broken heart." 

"Don't you zink you are over reacting just a bit, Gven?" Amoura asked as Gwen pulled her up out of her seat, the over-enthusiastic blond practicly dragging her toward the door. 

"No way," Gwen said, shaking her head. "Ryou-kun's lived too hard a life already, he doesn't need to add heartbreak to the list." 

Amoura sighed and let herself be dragged in the direction of Jounochi Katsuya's house. 

~*~

Ryou and Jou spent the morning going over the case file with a fine toothed comb, Ryou laying in his bed and Jou sitting in a chair next to it, papers strewn over both their laps. Sometime after Shizuka left, around noon, they hit on a new lead that neither of them had noticed before. Jou left to chase it almost immediately, leaving Ryou alone. 

The white haired ex-actor sighed, then winced and placed a hand over his stitches. He really hoped they healed soon, they were beginning to get seriously annoying. Fishing his sketchbook out of the mess of paper on his bed, he settled back against the pillows and took up a pencil. He doodled for nearly an hour, until the doorbell rang. 

He nearly yelled for Shizuka to get it, before he remembered that she was out running her errands. 

Grumbling slightly, one hand pressed against his injured stomach, Ryou hauled himself out of bed to go answer it. He stopped in the livingroom and glanced briefly up at the picture that was hanging over the fireplace. It'd been taken about two weeks ago, just before the whole Winner fiasco started. It was the three of them, Ryou and Shizuka and Jounochi. Ryou smiled slightly, realizing that he really was part of the family now. 

The doorbell rang again and Ryou snapped out of his musings, hurrying to go answer it. He was pleasently surprised to see Gwen and Amoura on the other side. Gwen looked annoyed, and Amoura was rolling her eyes. "Well hello, what are you two doing here?" 

Gwen frowned as Ryou ushered them inside. "Ano, Ryou... We have something to tell you..." 

"We just don't want you to be hurt," Amoura said quietly as the three of them took seats on the couches in the livingroom. 

Ryou looked surprised, and then chuckled. "Oh, these scratches? They're nothing big. I'm fine, really. And you can't talk me into leaving, either. Jou-sama and Shizuka need me here." 

"We... we weren't talking about that kind of hurt." Gwen said, looking down at her hands. She'd been the one to suggest this, but now that she was here she didn't want to be. She could just imagine the look on Ryou's face when she told him about Shizuka and Otogi... "You do know, don't you Ryou, that Shizuka has a boyfriend?" 

Ryou felt like all the air had been knocked out of him. "_What?!_ Is this some kind of... of a joke, Gwen-chan?" 

Gwen shook her head, still looking down at her hands. "I'm afraid not, Ryou-kun. Amoura and I went to Café de Caire and they were there on a date or something. We saw them kiss." 

For a moment both girls thought Ryou was going to faint, but then his face transformed into a look of anger. It wasn't often that Ryou Hiroki got mad, but when he did you'd better watch out. "She _lied_ to me... Who was she with?" 

Amoura and Gwen exchanged glances. Did they really want to read about a murder in tomorrow's paper? "...." 

Ryou frowned. "Never mind, I'll just find out myself. Thanks for telling me, you guys. Say hi to Hiro-kun for me." 

This was obviously a dismissal, so the two women got up and left, casting wary glances back toward their friend. Hopefully he wouldn't do anything too stupid. 

Once they were gone Ryou couldn't sit still, so he got up and paced around the room like a caged beast, snarling and wondering what had gotten into Shizuka. It was about a half an hour more before he heard Shizuka's car turn into the driveway, and he frowned, crossing his arms. Soon enough there was the jingle of keys in the door, and Shizuka came in, an unidentifiable look on her face. She froze at the acidic tone in Ryou's voice when he spoke. 

"Need any help carrying your shopping bags, Shizuka-_chan_?" 

The words hung in the air like smoke rings as Shizuka's jaw dropped. "What's gotten into you, Ryou?" 

"You lied to me!" Ryou accused. "You said you were going shopping, but instead you were out trouncing with some guy!" 

"How would you know?" Shizuka gasped. "I only went out with him to be nice, because he asked me! Were you spying on me, Ryou Hiroki?" 

"No!" Ryou said. "I can't believe you would think that! Gwen and Amoura were in the cafe, and they saw you two, so they thought they should come tell me. And that's another thing! Why the hell were you kissing him if you only went out with him 'to be nice'?" The sarcasm was heavy on the last few words. 

Shizuka gasped. She'd never heard Ryou cuss before, and certainly not at her. Her lower lip trembled, but she forced it to stay still, replacing the flood of tears with sudden anger instead. "Did you just assume that? _He_ kissed _me_!" 

"But you didn't pull away." 

Shizuka flinched. She hadn't. "Well it's not like you and I are steady or anything! That kiss between you and I was just in the moment." 

Ryou swore again. She thought their kiss meant nothing? "So the instant some big beef cake comes along you drop me like two cent cheese and run off with him?!" 

"Otogi Ryuuji is not just some low-brained, hormone driven male, but I'm beginning to think _you_ are!" Shizuka said, her voice rising to a yell. "And I think you're just jealous!" 

"I am not _jealous_!" Ryou yelled, his fists clenched at his sides. They were making an awful racket, but no one was around to hear. "You little loud-mouthed fickle female!" 

Shizuka screamed something unintelligible at him, and a moment later Ryou was rocked back on his heels from a sound slap and Shizuka was stomping up the stairs to her room. 

~*~

As Jou squealed down the road in his Wonder Baby (that's what he called his car. Someone else had named it for him, and he'd hated it, but for some reason, it had stuck.), he swore to himself. How could he have overlooked such a thing!? Sure, he'd only called in for a complete history on the two men the other day, but why did he have to dig this up himself? This was a huge thing, surely it wouldn't have been left out of the files he was sent on purpose! 

"Two years in a mental institution....why didn't the police pick up on that!?" 

He slammed his breaks in front of the police station, and cut the engine. In a flash, he was inside and barreling towards the offices where Bakura and the Motou brothers were. 

"Stop where you are." 

The low, calculating voice behind him made him screech to a halt. "Seto Kaiba, I ain't in the mood to mess with ya right now. I've got a lead on this case and I don't need...." 

"Is that what you're in a hurry about? I figured that your little sister had thrown a stick and you were trying to fetch it for her........" Seto shifted his weight, leaning against the doorframe he was in, and smirked at Jou. 

"Can it, Kaiba! I gotta get this evidence to the police here! In fact, why are YOU here anywa......." 

"LET ME GO!!!!! I DIDN'T DO IT!!!!!! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME TELL YOU THE TRUTH! I WOULD NEVER KILL NARU-CHAN!!!!!!!" 

"Calm down Umino-san, we never said that, we just want you for questioning and you're being unreasonable....." 

Jou's head whipped around. They had Umino in here? Shoving past Kaiba, ignoring his indignant cry, Jou rushed to the voices heading for the interrogation room. Catching up with the small group of officers, Jou found who he was looking for. 

"Hey! Bakura! Get over here! I got some new stuff for ya!!" Jou waved the files and shoved over to the white-haired officer. 

"JOUNOCHI! Can't you see we have a suspect right here!?" Bakura looked up from where he was trying to calm Umino, but the word "suspect" set the bespectacled man off again. 

"SUSPECT!!?? I DIDN'T KILL NARU-CHAN! I DIDN'T I DIDN'T I DIDN'T!!!!" 

Bakura turned from where he was snapping at Jou and went back to Umino. "Hey hey hey, we didn't say that, okay...now just go in there and sit down, alright? Calm down..." 

Jou edged up behind the smaller Motou brother and nudged him. "Hey, Yugi, check this out, okay? Get it to your brother and Bakura as soon as you guys get Science boy here calmed down.....I got questions of my own..." 

Yugi looked up and Jou and peeked at the file in his hand. His eyes expanded at what was on the paper clipped to the front. "Oro....? I don't believe this....." He took the file and looked over at Bakura. "Ano, Bakura, you really have to see this...." 

Bakura sighed and whispered at the officers and Jou so only they could hear. "Guys, Umino here is gonna have to calm down in a cell for tonight. There's no way we're getting anything out of him like he is." 

Jou hissed back, "Are you bringin' in Nephrite too?" 

Bakura nodded. "Just as soon as we can get a hold of him. Apparently he's visiting family in Kyoto for a day or two, so once we can find him, we're bringing him in." 

Jou nodded. "Call me tomorrow when you're ready to question Umino. Like I said to Yugi, I have questions to ask him too." 

Bakura nodded again, and Jou simply turned and walked back to his car. 

~*~

I sure was surprised when I got home that night. Man, what a cold reception. Ryou was locked in his room, and everytime I mentioned his name Shizzy-chan'd get all kinda stiff and wooden. I wondered if they'd had a fight or something, but neither one of 'em was telling me. Hopefully they'll get it worked out, I'm under enough stress as it is. 

When I went into Ryou's room to get the case file later on, the kid was already asleep. It looked like he'd been in the middle of a drawin'. I couldn't help but glance at it as I collected all the papers from the file. Man, that picture was pretty good. It was Shizuka, 'cept she had devil horns and a tail and was applying lipstick, while a whole line of men waiting on her trailed off the page. Usually I'd have yelled at him for drawin' somethin' like that about my sister, but I guessed this was their own business. Jeez, that must have been one hell of a fight. 

~*~

Ryou moaned slightly in his sleep, and finally woke up, his face contorted in pain. Rolling out of bed and trying to muffle his cries of pain, he shuffled into the small bathroom he had to himself and flipped on the light. He cursed for the third time that day as he saw blood seeping through his pajama shirt. There was probably quite a bit on his sheets, too. Trying not to yelp as the motion stretched his skin, he pulled of his shirt, already knowing what had happened. 

He was right. All that screaming and stomping around earlier in the day and then the slap from Shizuka had made him pull his stitches. The wound in his stomach was oozing blood, and the one in his shoulder had completely reopened. He knew he should call Jou and Shizuka, have them take him back to the hospital to get re-stitched, but he'd be damned if he was going to give Shizuka that satisfaction. 

Pulling open the cabinet, he grabbed a roll of gauze and started to bandage himself back up. He didn't know what he was going to do with the bloodied sheets and shirt, but no way would he let Shizuka see them. He was stronger then a few measly gunshots. Never in a million years would he let Shizuka see a potential weakness (forget that she'd already nursed him back to health twice!). 

He could handle this on his own. 

()()()()() 

WSJ: *sweatdrops and looks up at the chapter* Is that hints of Amoura/Malik I see? This is, what, the third love intrest she's had in three stories? In yours she's in love with Seto, in mine she's in love with Bakura, and now this! Yeesh! 

Brood: What can I say, when I made Amoura, I made a playa. She needs a nice Red Wine Pimpin' set from Go-Gaia.com......... *eyes widen and she rushes off to find her sketchpad* 

Zutsokaki: Oh great. We've gotten her started. By the way, she's been muttering something about "website" lately. Do you know what she means? 

God bless minna-san! 


End file.
